Why Is It Always Me? II: Out Of the Dark
by dillpops
Summary: Sequel to Why is It Always Me? After a strange childhood & a strange adventure, once again an old friend calls upon a not too reluctant hero for help COMPLETED 11/08/03
1. Things End and Begin

Welcome back to the world of Why Is It Always Me? Once more you are here for sucked into other worlds action! I'm glad to see you'll stick with these characters and me because I'm not done with them dammit! Plus, you guys all voted for a prequel/sequel so I'm giving you a two for one deal! This one will not only include the past, but the next section of the 'W.I.I.A.M?' story! We're aiming for a trilogy people! So sit back, grab your reading glasses and here we go!  
  
  
* * *  
  
  
  
"We're leaving!" her mother called from the small car on the road side "Come on, or we'll be late getting home!"  
  
She looked up from her stick drawing and grinned "Coming mummy" she threw the stick to the ground and threw her little body into a gallop to reach the car  
  
"Good girl" her mother smiled and got into the car  
  
She stopped her running to turn and look behind her quickly "Come on" she hissed giggling "My mummy wants to go"  
  
She opened the car door, it's weight a bit heavy but managing, and stopped, seemingly waiting for something.  
  
"Are you coming?" Her mother called back through the open door at her "Maybe I'll leave you here if you don't hurry up sugar plum"  
  
The girl jumped and nodded, climbing into the back and onto the raised car seat, pulling the door shut behind her firmly. She did herself in and smiled at her friend opposite her.  
  
"I'm going home," she told him  
  
"Yes we are" her father agreed and turned back to his little girl "I'll find some ice cream for you since you've been so good with the doctors at the hospitals and the clinic. You're sister as well if she's home before us"  
  
The small girl smiled and fingered the scars on her arm gingerly and turned back to her friend "I like ice cream, do you?"  
  
"I like ice cream" her father spoke from the front grinning, "I'll get some too"  
  
Her friend smiled and waved at her, his green hat bobbing with agreement. She smiled at him and turned to her window and pulled it down a notch to let some air in.  
  
The pulled up to a red light. She stared at a man outside her window, staring out at the crowd. Red chair, black armour, he turned to the window when he noticed her glare.  
  
"Hey little pumpkin" he grinned a big white grin that was wide and dangerous.  
  
"Hi" she replied "I'm not supposed to be talking..."  
  
"Who are you talking to?" her mother asked glancing back quickly to the rear seat  
  
She looked at her mother "No one"  
  
"Good, now take the medicine that the doctor gave you" her father passed a bottle of water and a small white tablet back to his little girl.  
  
She looked out at the man, wavered, then took the bottle, finishing that she passed back the bottle to her father "I did it"  
  
The man grinned the big toothy grin again and he disappeared.  
  
"Good girl"  
  
Green light. The drove off again. She turned back to her friend, but he was gone. She sat back in her seat, her parents talking eagerly between themselves. The world was finally quiet.  
  
  
* * *  
  
  
I opened my eyes to bright sunlight, another beautiful summer day apparently. I was ready to die of shock, summer in Britain? Never!  
  
Rolling over, I squinted at the time and rolled over again. 8:30am Saturday morning. I yawned widely and looked at the small grey stone on my bedside table amidst the other groups of rocks I'd collected over the years.   
  
Three years.  
  
Nothing had happened since I'd come back with Lucy. We'd never talked about it after she'd gone home and we'd never felt te need for it. I played my Zelda games less since I had more school work and more or less begun to forget again what had happened.  
  
It was almost like the only thing that made me remember was the stone. Otherwise what proof was there it hadn't all been fake and it was just a shared dream or something? I reached over and picked it up, rubbing in the palm of my hand. It often seemed to help me think when I got up early in the morning, made me less groggy for some reason.  
  
I thought back to when I was little. The medication had helped me shut off my mind when my parents and the doctors had told me too. The scars had disappeared after that, the traces of injury gone, and I had forgotten then as well.   
  
Yet he'd come back, the little boy in the green hat. But not a boy anymore, a man, older than me even. He'd taken me away and I visited a hell of war along with my friend. Now I was forgetting again.  
  
I didn't really want to forget, but maybe it was going to happen anyway. Lucy seemed to have forgotten. She'd gone with me, but never spoken of it since. So she probably had forgotten.  
  
Sitting up, I put the stone back and swung my legs over the bed, yawning. I crossed the room and opened the curtains wider to let in the daylight.  
  
Three years to the day. I looked at the calendar, he had returned on this day to ask for help. I smiled, I wondered if it had been a dream or whether it was real. What was he doing now?  
  
I went upstairs to the attic where the strategy books and consoles lay cluttering the floor and opened the pages of characters. There they all were, but they looked unreal and coloured in. I read the profiles through for the thousandth time and corrected the books mistakes in my mind, how 2 dimensional they all seemed when I'd seen them die and be even more real than some people in the real world are.  
  
Not that Hyrule wasn't real, it was of course. I'd been there, and you don't just visit somewhere that's imaginary...unless you've got concussion or something.  
  
I closed the book and stretched, done reminiscing. Why live in the past? Today was Saturday, time for fun! Or something like that.  
  
I felt optimistic, the whole day just for myself! Homework can wait for Sunday and today is fun day! I cringed, how corny did that sound?  
  
I'd been bored with life ever since I'd returned from my 'adventure' nothing seemed to be exciting, Rolla coasters, films, anything. I'd been in danger before, I'd been a real hero, and I guess it was a rush or something.  
  
Yeah, the rush of nearly dying can't be matched. I guess I missed being important; saving the world makes you feel good. Doing something for mankind and all that. Or Hylian kind...too confusing.  
  
I flopped back onto the sofa that accompanied the attic room. The day had started so optimistic as well, they all seemed to go pear shaped after I get up these days.  
  
Nothing for it, get dressed and do something to take my mind off boredom.   
  
It only took half an hour. So much for that idea, didn't keep you busy that long. When was everyone getting up?  
  
My fingers itched.  
  
This was really stupid now.  
  
A soft knock made me jump out of my skin and grab a vase. I peered round into the hallway carefully. Were we being burgled?  
  
My heart started to beat faster, finally some excitement! Well, in a twisted weird way, but yeah! I gripped the glass harder and moved into the passage.  
  
"Hello?" I called softly "You better not be stealing or something" I felt my fingers go numb from blood loss and loosened my grip "I'm armed and dangerous you know, you don't want to get hurt do you?"  
  
A voice spoke through from the kitchen "Who's going to hurt me?"  
  
I bit back a yelp. It's scary when voices come out of nowhere from a room, isn't it? I pulled my hand back as someone moved towards where I was standing and out of the kitchen.  
  
I bit my lip and braced myself for a hard throw or a hit as they came round.  
  
Here they come...  
  
I brought my fist with the vase in it as hard as I could and...  
  
"Link?"  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Oooooooooooooooo cliff hanger, sorry it's so short, I couldn't get into the swing of it for a while and I'm kinda wavering on it at the moment. So read, review, tell me what's hot what's not etc. I'll try to send an email around all you people who review when I update because heaven knows you can tell when a stories been updated these days. Thank you for reading tune in next time for the continuation of this story! 


	2. Unexpected Changes

Thanks for the welcoming back reviews people. I really hope you meant them! I am now in the writing spirit, especially since I can't connect to the Internet right now, which is a little bit of a bummer. So I'll do you a favour and write chapter two! I hope you will enjoy these stories as much as I enjoy writing them. Here we go!  
  
  
  
"Link?" I dropped the vase with a rather large smash  
  
I heard movement upstairs and ran to the bottom of the stairs "It's ok!" I called up  
  
"What was that?" I heard my mother shout back down at me, a little disorientated and drowsy "What did you do?"  
  
"I just knocked over a vase mum!"  
  
"Clean it up please, do you need help?"  
  
"No, no, no, no!" that was the last thing I needed right now "I'm doing it now!"  
  
"Well alright, call if you need help"  
  
"Sure"  
  
I sighed and fell back against the wall "Holy s*** that scared me" I rubbed my eyes and looked back at Link "Are you really there? Or is it me?"  
  
He grinned widely, obviously finding me incredibly funny; he knelt and began to pick up the shattered glass "It's really me, kid"  
  
I pulled him up off the floor and poked him around a bit, turning him around to get a good 360 view of his changes. Larger, more muscles maybe, a bit of unshaven stubble, dirty tights, more weapons hanging from him than usual.   
  
"You're not exactly as I left you" I commented finishing my inspection, then punching him lightly "But definitely solid"  
  
"Now considering what you just said perhaps I should return the favour" he looked at me sceptically, "Your hair is longer and shaggy, not flattering, your clothes hang loosely and make you look like a boy. You may be a little taller and a little wider but other than that you look the same" he paused and looked at me again "How many years has it been here?"  
  
I counted again "Three"   
  
"Is that all?" he seemed to be in shock "I guess time really is different" he grinned "I forgot for a while the difference"  
  
I frowned, yes, time had flowed differently there, "How long has it been in Hyrule?"  
  
"Ten years and 11 weeks and 4 days and 19 hours" he grinned  
  
I stared, now that I thought about it, his face had become a little more lined. Of course, he'd be reaching thirty soon.  
  
"Is that...so?" I said, and began to busy myself with the glass   
  
"Yeah" he bent down to look me in the face "hey, you're not upset are you? Can't tease your elders and betters huh?"  
  
I smiled warily "Age doesn't matter buddy, I can still tease you as much as I want. I'm older too you know"  
  
"Oh yeah?"  
  
"Yeah, 17, almost 18 actually"  
  
"Well, then, I retract"  
  
We cleared up in friendly silence considering I was still in shock from his arrival this age jump, and he just because I guess he was glad to see me. I can think things like that anyway, I didn't really know what he was thinking as we threw the shards away.  
  
So, why are you here?" I asked as we finished "Last time there was a reason, surely not to remind me that I did meet you and it wasn't a dream, hmmm?"  
  
"How's Lucy doing?" Link asked innocently looking out of a window  
  
"Hey, talk to me now or I'll never talk to you again wrinkly" I joked  
  
He turned back and smiled a secret smile "Can you guess?"  
  
"Well..." I realised there really was only one stupid reason "You need my help once more to save Hyrule because I know the games that were based on Hyrule"  
  
"Bingo"  
  
It was a little disappointing there wasn't another reason, like he wanted to visit for his own reasons, but what could I expect? He didn't want to screw up my life anymore than he should do. Especially in an exam year. I'd had enough problems with nightmares after the last 'adventure'   
  
"What's happening this time then?" I stroked my cat, which seemed pleased for the attention "Tidal wave, zombies, what, what, what?"  
  
"Termina business" he confirmed importantly  
  
"Termina?" I raised an eyebrow "And why does it concern Hyrule this time? Epona get stolen again?"  
  
"Hey that was only once" he retorted, "Anyway, it is our business as it's our mirror world, and I'm not good with this sort of thing. Termina goes, Hyrule goes, as you probably know"  
  
I waved my hand "Sure do"  
  
"Anyway, they don't really have a me over there so I have to save them as well" he shrugged "Theres some trouble brewing or something and I'm being sent over there by the sages to help out with some stuff. But..."  
  
I screwed up my eyes suspiciously "But what...?"  
  
He drew a big breath "Ifthingsgowrongwehavetostartalloveragain"   
  
"What."  
  
"Um...you heard right" he looked sheepish "Don't you know the rules?"  
  
"Sure I did" I got up and strode over to him "You mean theres a chance the world there will END?"  
  
He nodded.  
  
"With me in it?"  
  
"Unless we warp back three days"  
  
"And you expect me to help out in something I have no idea what I have to do?"  
  
"You did last time?"  
  
I paused.  
  
"Will you come?"  
  
"Sure"  
  
"What was that?"  
  
"Sure" I grinned, finally something to soothe my itches  
  
"Uh...great" he smiled and I really did see lines crinkle that were never there before, getting old, was he?  
  
He broke my train of thought "What?"  
  
"I said, is Lucy coming?" he repeated "It was fun last time"  
  
I thought about it. Maybe she'd want to, but last time she'd been hurt much more than I. Maybe it was better to leave her. I could always come back for her.  
  
"I don't think so" I said "I can always come back to get her..." I stopped "Do you WANT her to come?"  
  
He blushed, embarrassed maybe "I just wondered" he replied breezily   
  
"Sure" I went out of the door "Let me grab my bag and 'the stone'"  
  
"Alright"  
  
I quietly crept past the sleeping family members' doors and grabbed a backpack. I couldn't remember where the one I'd taken last time had gone. Had I left it there? I couldn't remember. I shoved a few good things in, clothes, pants, girly stuff etc. things I could think up on short notice and returned downstairs with the weird feeling of déjà vu.  
  
"You know, you don't swear as much as you used to" Link observed as I pulled on my comfortable trainers and jacket  
  
"I've grown up" I winked and pulled on my backpack "Are we going?"  
  
"You're sure about leaving Lucy?" Link asked carefully  
  
"Yeah, she's got work to do anyway" I smiled and held my stone up "Ready"  
  
"Here we go"  
  
All at once a feeling of weightlessness washed over me and I saw the blackness fall over around us. We were once again falling into the hole down to who knows where. I closed my eyes as the air streamed past and weighted for the ground to hit.  
  
And I did. Again. It was hard, bumpy, rocky and every other discomfort that I could think of to curse at this very moment. I opened my eyes. It was bright and sunny, typical Hyrule I guess, grasping a few rocks I pulled myself up and caught sight of Link laughing at me.  
  
"Shut up" I hissed  
  
"Look where you landed" he giggled  
  
I looked at my foot. Cowpat. Great.  
  
"Laugh and die fairy boy" I growled  
  
He laughed. I turned up my nose and began to clean my shoe. Not before wiping my shoe on his lovely tunic.  
  
We didn't speak all the way to Hyrule castle from the where we landed in Hyrule Field.  
  
When we finally drew up to the castle, I marvelled at how it was exactly the same in everyway as I remembered it. Apart from the blood splatters and such, it was crisp as a clean starched shirt.   
  
"Are we talking yet?" I said sideways to Link  
  
"Depends if the smell comes out" he replied just as sideways  
  
I grinned and looked once more towards the open drawbridge. We were about a metre away when a tumult of noise threw itself out the Draw Bridge and town right towards Link. I dodged as a trio of children threw themselves upon Link and sent him tumbling backwards into a patch of thick grass.  
  
"Daddy!"  
  
"You're back!"  
  
"Mummy is going to thrash you!"  
  
I stood stupefied as this group wrestled on the floor. Three little blonde boys, clad in green, little green hats and little brown boots kicked and punched their father and giggled as loudly as he himself laughed.  
  
He grappling all three and tucked them under his arms, forcing them to be still. They noticed me for the first time. They seemed as dumbstruck as I was at this moment in time.  
  
"Who are you?"  
  
"Are you a prisoner of war?"  
  
"What are you wearing?"  
  
I folded my arms and frowned hard at Link, who went bright red under my gaze.  
  
"Hey..." he stuttered "Surprise"  
  
"Link!"  
  
I spun around to find a very cross Zelda striding her way across the wooden planks with a just as annoyed Impa a few paces behind.  
  
Showing the no mercy that only a mother can, Zelda tugged the kids away from their father and pulled Link up. Fearlessly staring him in the face, her eyebrows twitched fiercely.  
  
"You crossed dimensional rifts without permission!" she accused "I know you wanted some help but no one can cross without permission"  
  
"Darling..." Link put up his hands defensively "I was. I was just. Er. I was."  
  
"Doing exactly as you wanted to. As always" Zelda sighed and finally turned to me with a smile "Men are so selfish sometimes. Welcome back"  
  
"Thanks" I said slowly "Someone explain this to me again"  
  
"We're kinda..." Link put his arm around Zelda "We're sort of married"  
  
  
  
  
Wow, so Link's got married finally, and has three clones! NOOOOOOOOOO! Isn't it scary??? This chapter sets up stuff doesn't it? I can bring in old characters later on in the story if you guys want, I'm open at the moment. I only have a rough outline. Read, review be happy! 


	3. Preparations then off again

Thanks for reviewing the last chapter. Ah my fans are so kind to me *sigh* yep, yep, yep. I might bring Lucy in later on; I'm undecided at the moment. Reader influence question I think. Enjoy the next chapter!  
  
  
  
I stood staring for a moment, trying to grasp a thought to spit out. I looked at them, seemed like a perfect couple, blonde hair, blue eyes. Perfect. Zelda even looked better with age.   
  
I always thought it would happen and it was meant to be but it was still a shock. A numbing shock, but even so, I felt a little twinge of jealousy. How did she get a guy like that to like her? The guys at school never looked at me twice.  
  
"...Married?" I managed to get out  
  
"Yeah" Link grinned "About eight years now, great huh?"  
  
"Sure" I forced a smile "Great"   
  
"You're here to save Hyrule again, eh?" Impa eyed me sceptically "At least you look a little more well built than last time"  
  
I blushed and self-consciously put my hands up protectively. To my amazement and embarrassment they all burst out laughing.  
  
"She means muscularly! As in fighting strength and so on!" Zelda got out through her giggles  
  
I blushed even harder and tried to laugh it off "Oh right, yeah, heh"  
  
Zelda ran forward and grabbed my arm to lead me into the castle "Come on, we have a lot of history to teach you, we can get you changed too and find you some weapons and provisions and so on..."  
  
I got dragged off listening to the continuous babble and thought about what I'd just heard.  
  
Married? Lucy had even had a crush on him at one point. And I...well that didn't matter. But how did that idiot get himself a wife? And three kids! It was more than I could handle at that moment.   
  
I was brought back to the moment when Zelda said "You'll be setting off on horseback tomorrow morning"  
  
And I stupidly replied "Where?"  
  
"Termina of course! Didn't I just explain what you were going to do?"  
  
I blinked and said "Of course you did, how silly of me"  
  
And once more I was lead away again, trying to remember this time what I was supposed to remember her explaining to me.  
  
* * *  
  
So I was given a sword, bow and arrows, a set of clothes, maps, compass, dagger, and a bunch of other stuff they thought 'might come in handy'. All the time while they were pulling me around to various parts of the castle, showing me places where they ate, slept, bathed etc. and telling me the history of Hyrule that I'd missed.  
  
It seemed that when Lucy and myself returned home, Kestrel had gone back to the Zoras and married as well. He'd married a lovely young Zora whose name couldn't be pronounced either. I've nicknamed this girl Fiona for know, as I have no idea what she is like. This is just for reference though. So he's off living the high life in Zora's domain, he visits every now and then, but mostly they correspond through letters.  
  
Link himself went on to clear Hyrule and the other domains of Skulltulas and other pesky creatures such as Pea Hats for two or three years. He and Zelda had been getting close as he got into the inner circle of the royal families associates. Being Hero of Time of course the King had been more than happy to arrange a betrothal on their part. A year later they were married and had children on the way, Link and Zelda were to receive the throne for the next reign and stuff.   
  
They'd managed to set up god relations with all races after the war and were the most sought after social guests in Hyrule for all occasions. Hyrule was happy and safe. I got the feeling of the most popular kids in a school and that sort of thing, how perfect they were and they deserved to be king and queen of the school etc.   
  
It was weird how everything had changed while I'd barely changed at all.  
  
I ended up in a large guest suite looking at all my equipment spread out on the floor around two hours later. Or at least it felt like that to me.  
  
I sat in amongst the objects and began to sort things out into piles. I think this is my obsession; every Christmas and birthday I categorize the gifts I've received into piles and stuff. Like stationary, clothes, make up. And so I began here as well: weapons, clothes, boots, amour wear, bags, potions, and the stuff I'd brought with me.  
  
I'd been told that we'd set out at sunrise tomorrow on two horses. Not like that uncomfortable journey with three to one Epona. After that we'd head to the lost woods on the same route Link had taken years before. We were in Termina; we would do what we set out to do.  
  
No one had told me what we had set out to do though.  
  
I had a sneaking suspicion that they were purposely not telling me what we were going there to do.  
  
I put that thought away for now, something to develop on perhaps. I began thinking about Link and Zelda and how cute they looked together. Too bad he was leaving her with the kids for an adventure. I'd hate someone doing that to me. But it wasn't as if Zelda was a housewife or something.   
  
I heard a knock at the door.   
  
"Come in"  
  
I looked to see who it was and saw a little face pop round the side of the door. Link and Zelda's oldest, Tate shuffled in nervously and looked at me expectantly. Link and Zelda's kids were 4, 6 and 7. The youngest was Adin, the middle one was Loe and here was the eldest giving me an evil stare.  
  
He really was a clone of Link; the only difference was the size and a slight twinge of red in his blonde hair.  
  
"Are you taking my daddy away?" he asked defiantly  
  
I looked at him straight and replied, "Why would you think that?"  
  
"Because he's packing"  
  
"He's never gone away before?"  
  
"No"  
  
I smiled, seemed that Link was the family man after all. Never leaving his kids. Cute. I guess I'd wonder why he was packing too if he'd always been there.  
  
"He's coming back" I said  
  
"When?"   
  
I didn't know, but I couldn't say that to a kid "Soon"  
  
"You're weird" he stated, and left  
  
I grinned, what did I expect from a little boy? I obviously did look weird to him and his brothers. So I went back to packing.  
  
* * *  
  
"...When you reach the cross over portal remember to hold onto each other otherwise you might end up separated" Zelda reminded us  
  
We were standing on the castle drawbridge at dawn. The air was chilly but we dressed up enough so that we wouldn't be able to feel the cold apart from the breezes on our cheeks. The boys weren't up; they'd had a late good-bye party with their father last night. Only Zelda had come to see us off on our horses.  
  
"See you soon then" said Link, pulling Zelda in for a hug  
  
"You come back, you hear me?" Zelda punched him gently "You have reasons to come back now, your sons, me, the kingdom. And make sure you look after your travelling partner too"  
  
"Yeah" He kissed her on the forehead, then pushing her away to mount Epona "Take care"  
  
"You too" Zelda turned to me and said quietly "Don't let him do anything stupid"  
  
I winked "Not with me around"   
  
I turned to the horse. I stopped. I didn't remember how to get on. I needed to avoid the packs on the back and make it into the saddle while holding the reins...  
  
"Need a hand up?" Zelda asked politely  
  
I blushed "Um...if you wouldn't mind"  
  
"Sure"  
  
She helped me up and waited till I was settled to then hand me the reins.  
  
"Good luck guys" she said smiling, did I detect her eyes filling up?  
  
"See you soon" I replied  
  
"Bye" Link called, starting off "I'll bring you a present or something!"  
  
He clicked to his horse and sped up, me following at a slow trot. I didn't quite feel horse settled yet, so I just did what I could, leaving Zelda and the castle behind over a hill.  
  
  
  
  
Ah we're off once more. But no one has said what they're doing!!! It's so weird!! Well, tune in for the next chapter soon! 


	4. Ups and Downs

New chapter! Thank you for all the reviews (tell your friends ^_~ just joking!) and now here is the NEW chapter. Yay for you!! But yikes, some of the stuff you've written is scaring me *weep* I'm afraid to write this chapter now in case you don't like it! Anyway, Link and Malon? I respect your opinion but...as I stated in the first story ^_~ I really am not too keen on her. She's alright though. Her voice is just a little...ugh.  
  
  
  
"It should be just around here" Link called back to me  
  
We'd been riding for around two hours when we'd finished the field and had entered the lost woods. It was damp, dark and cramped in here. They don't call it the lost woods for nothing, and even Link was having trouble. My horse whimpered nervously under me, I stroked its mane and whispered to it to try and calm it down, but it did little to help.  
  
I pulled up the hood of a clock I'd been given to travel in and strained to see Link and Epona ahead of me. They were less than five feet in front of me but it was still difficult to see anything apart from the horses rear and the next few trees.  
  
We were heading into the heart of the wood where Link could remember following the Imp to Termina. I didn't quite trust his memory as he had been holding onto a stirrup at the time, but who else were we to follow?  
  
"Alright" I replied, "But you know I can't see you properly"  
  
"I know" he called, I could almost feel his grin "You have to be used to this light to see in it"  
  
I made a mental note to smack his mocking grin later but for now I said airily "But you haven't been here much have you"  
  
"Well, no, no I haven't, but it stays with you"  
  
"Yeah right"  
  
"Hey. Who knows where they're going here?"  
  
"Obviously not you, we just passed the tunnel"  
  
"S***"  
  
I stifled a giggle as Link pulled his horse round to see the tunnel standing a few feet away from him. He pulled a face and put his nose in the air, riding straight past me and heading for the even darker wooden passage.  
  
"You know where you're going now?" I asked innocently  
  
"Shut up" he growled "I was just testing you"  
  
"Whatever" I grinned, following him into the tunnel  
  
The tunnel was wide enough for us to get in, but we could only walk in single file again even while ducking down from the roof so we didn't hit our heads.  
  
The dark tunnel continued for around five minutes and then we came out to an opening with large stumps placed around, leading up to a passage around 10 feet in the air. Here was the passage.  
  
"OK" Link said getting off his horse with a bound "Here's where we leave the horses"  
  
"What?" I seemed to have forgotten this part of the plan  
  
"We. Leave. Them. Here" He repeated slowly "Ok?"  
  
I got down just as slowly "But theres so much stuff to carry!" I whined pulling down my bag and weapons  
  
He looked sidelong at me "Baby, don't tell me that you've gotten soft"  
  
I narrowed my eyes "Did I say that?" I swung the backpack up and placed the arrows and sword above it while carrying the bow "Let's go"  
  
I passed him and left him to sort the rest of the baggage and the horses out and headed to the lowest stump.  
  
I stared at it in dismay, even if I did climb it, how was a supposed to get to the next, higher, one? The stump was around a metre and a half high! I was also carrying bags, the bags felt one and a half metres high!  
  
"Having trouble?"  
  
Link leaped up like the height was nothing and peered down at me with a cocky grin on his face. I scowled evilly and began to pull myself up next to him. Hard. Very hard, wasn't going to tell him that though.  
  
God, I wished Lucy were here with me. At least then I would not have to try and make fun of him and take his 'humour' on my own. I scowled harder as I finished my climb and stood up.  
  
"You made it" Link did that smile again which said 'oh I'm so much better at this than you' and leapt off on to the next stump, bags and all  
  
"Sure did" I replied sweetly and made a run at the gap, barely making it  
  
The usual round of insults, then another run and leap. Insult, run, leap. We continued this across the stumps and made it to the tunnel. Which, as is always the way, was darker than before. So much so, it seemed to swallow the light from outside.  
  
I stepped inside it and Link said quietly, as if not wanting to disturb the silence from inside "There's going to be a rather large drop"  
  
"I know that" I replied in a whisper, taking another step into the tunnel "Ok, so how far into the tunnel is it?"  
  
"No idea. I was running blindly"  
  
"How helpful"  
  
"Let's go"  
  
I walked into the complete darkness, running my hand along the wall for comfort and placed one foot out carefully before taking each step.  
  
It was scary, I was almost screaming with the thought that I was going to fall down a BIG drop in less than ten minutes. Of course it was inevitable. But I still couldn't help wishing there was another way down there.  
  
"I thi~" Link began and then drew his breath in sharply  
  
I heard a short scuffle and a weight being dropped followed by a short yell of surprise.  
  
I think he'd found the hole. I stopped dead and got onto my knees feeling for the edge, once finding it, I peered over where I thought the drop would have been. I couldn't see a thing.  
  
"Link?" I called and then cursed myself, he's not going to hear if he's in another dimension now is he.  
  
Only thing to do was go back or follow. I sighed; I knew which one it had to be. It would be so much easier to do it with someone else. They could push you if you chickened out.  
  
Well. I stood up and straightened my clothes. I was not chickening out. I hadn't before. I wasn't going to now, think how much people would laugh at me?  
  
I took a step back, a small step forward. Stopped. Held my breath, and jumped.  
  
  
  
  
  
Ok, I know, I know, it was very short! But I have a project to write and I wanted to get this one out of my system before starting this project. Ok? Read, review be happy. Evil Neptune was this any better? 


	5. Landings and Inns

Ah praise, praise, oh praise. I've just realised, no disclaimer on any chapters so far ^^;  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own any Zelda, not one bit; I only own my original characters. Thank you.  
  
There we go. My hands are just not typing today, ugh. It's so hard to type, they just won't work. My project is halfway done but I'm bored so...yeah. Thanks for the reviews. I will try and encompass every ones views into this story but you MUST be patient. Let me do what I'm heading for and maybe you'll be rewarded.  
  
Ah I just watched the saddest music video from a girl called OLIVIA and the song 'Into The Stars' she's like this girl who was enhanced to be a robot and her memory keeps playing back clips of this guy who gave her a ring and held her hand and everything. So she goes off to find him and then detects him ahead of her, so she walks in that direction, but then she breaks down!! And while she's breaking her memory keeps playing these clips and it keeps telling her he's right ahead but then she breaks and can't go after him!!! It's so sad!!  
  
Anyway...on with the chapter!  
  
  
  
  
"Oof"   
  
I sat up painfully. Light, good, we needed light. Water. Cave. Seemed like the right place. Thank god there wasn't that crazy imp around.  
  
"Where were you?" Link asked, already on the other side of the water and patting himself dry  
  
"More to the point" I replied struggling to combat the weight of my backpack to stand "What were you about to say when you fell in"  
  
"Well I was about to tell you the hole was ahead"  
  
"Fine"  
  
I stepped into the water, gasping as the coldness numbed my legs for a moment before I couldn't feel them anymore. Slowly, carefully I waded over to the next hunk f land and clambered out with the help of Link's arm.  
  
I stood there shivering before I remembered that I had brought spare trousers.  
  
I changed while Link went to investigate up ahead.   
  
"Hey" he said on arrival back "Guess what I have"  
  
"What?"  
  
"Masks"  
  
"What?"  
  
He grinned "Don't know why, they just seem to be in my 'magic pocket' must be something to do with possessions or something. I thought they were Happy Mask Shop man's but obviously they felt I was their owner"  
  
"But they weren't all his" I pointed out "So people must be missing them"  
  
"Oh well" he shrugged "Masks are good things"  
  
I didn't make him notice that a mask was the cause of most of Termina's problems in the past, and a cause of concern in Hyrule as well. If he wanted to play mask man then I wasn't going to stop him. He just better let me have a go with the damn things.  
  
"Let's go" he was already walking across the floor toward the door at the end. The light came down in a spotlight and spread across the floor, I took the time to notice that instead of a triforce symbol, the Termina light was dappled into three separate triangles. I wondered what the mythology was briefly before running through the door after Link.   
  
I caught up with him. He was a scrub.  
  
Literally.  
  
He'd put on the mask.  
  
Man, that looked weird. Little deku scrub with a hat? It was funny, in a weird, grotesque way.   
  
He looked up at me with the big amber eyes and motioned for me to grab onto his feet.   
  
I did so.  
  
Soon I was dangling dangerously from his feet and flying in the air, 50 feet from the ground. Terrified I squeezed to hard and we missed a few landing points. He couldn't speak so that meant he couldn't tell me off. He just acted p***** and went back.  
  
Going through the ups and downs of the beginning tunnels to get through to the Clock Tower was tiring, but we made it to that tunnel that twists and stuff when you go along it.  
  
I threw up.  
  
What? You would too if you were walking up walls and upside down and were following a deku scrub. Luckily, at that moment we happened to be on the ceiling and the vomit went below us.   
  
It was not pretty though.  
  
Anyway, soon and sure enough we came up at the bottom of the windmill and I couldn't help but listen for the music that always plays in there. But I guess as always, no music. I hummed it instead while Link transformed back into a person.  
  
Walking up the wooden planks Link commented "I really, really, really hope that the Happy Mask Man isn't there, he really freaked me out last time I was here" he shuddered as if to make his point  
  
"You were a kid so it makes sense" I shrugged, that happy mask was a bit freaky though  
  
I looked over the wooden rail of the slope and watched the water churning in the water wheel for a moment before we reached the floor of the Clock.  
  
"I keep thinking I'm in a windmill," I said, as I looked at the cogs turning above us "It's weird, everything's backwards"  
  
"Just be glad that right isn't left here, now THAT would be confusing" Link replied pushing open the door  
  
"Are you okay with that door?" I asked  
  
He seemed to be having a bit of trouble with the force outside the door. I shrugged and rubbed my arms; it was a bit chilly in the lofty windmill.  
  
"I...got...it" Link growled through clenched teeth, managing to open the huge wooden door "Oh..."  
  
I saw the force that had kept the door shut.  
  
Snow.  
  
I pulled my cloak around me further and blew on my hands instinctively. Wow, winter, that was something new. Lucy should have come and brought her dog. It loves snow.  
  
I on the other hand, went in it when nessarcary.  
  
"Winter," Link commented  
  
"No kidding" I walked slowly into the knee-deep snow and groaned, as my foot went numb "I can't walk in these shoes in this," as the wet slush seeped through the material of my trainers  
  
Fresh flakes began to fall from the gloomy grey above us and made me shiver even more.  
  
"Come on then" Link said readjusting his pack  
  
"Come on what?" I asked, rubbing my nose to get feeling back into it, the snow getting heavier  
  
"To the inn of course"   
  
He strode out to where I stood and grabbed my arm.  
  
"What are you~"  
  
He heaved and pulled backpack, weapons and me on top of his backpack, groaning as he shifted my weight and put a foot down.  
  
So we went, through the quiet streets, up cold slopes and through the cloudy day. The snow turned to sleet, back to snow, then to rain, then back to snow. Up and down went the heavy boots below me as I moved with the slow motion of movement.  
  
Clock Town was confusing in the snow, I recognised no faces, no buildings it was hidden in a blanket of powder snow.  
  
I assumed we were heading for the inn as Link skirted around a frozen wooden pole in the centre of a square. I shuffled my weight and pulled down onto his shoulders more as he tugged open a door with one hand and walked through the wall of heat in front.  
  
We stood (or lay) in that heat for a few moments, perhaps to get our bearings right. Being in the cold for a length of time meant we had to get used to the heat, or, as someone later said, we would get chill blains.   
  
"May I help you?"  
  
A large woman came out to the desk and opened a large book and dipped a large quill into a rather large inkpot. It's true when they say people match their furniture.  
  
"Reservation?" she asked politely  
  
Link snapped to attention and shook me off his back, out of all the times he'd dropped me before, this time I was glad to be numb from cold. I landed on a quiver of arrows. Luckily they weren't turned towards me.  
  
I rubbed feeling into my fingers gingerly.  
  
"Yes" Link was saying over the counter, friendly and perky "I'd like a room for the night"  
  
"Reservation?" the woman repeated a bit more testily tapping her quill on the book  
  
"No" Link said apologetically  
  
She frowned "Well, I'm afraid we're booked up..."  
  
Link winked and looked into the book carefully "Can't you make a teensy weensy little space for us? I'd be so, so, so gratefully. And you know" he looked at her smiling sweetly "You have such beautiful eyes"  
  
She didn't seem taken, but she obviously could see how desperate he was and replied to him "Well maybe I could do something..."  
  
"Thank you" Link sighed happily and rubbed his hands together  
  
"Will you and the lady be..." the woman suggested uncertainly "Because we can't give too many rooms away..."  
  
I looked at her and said, "Does it really look like I'd be crazy enough to be that way with him?"  
  
The woman grinned and replied "At least we have one sensible lass around here, not like...ANJU! We'll be giving you two single beds then lad"  
  
A small and red headed woman appeared round a corner "Yes mother?"  
  
"See that this" she glanced at me "Pair are found a room or two in the inn somewhere for the night and that they get settled in alright"  
  
"Yes mother" Anju hopped over the counter and took our bags like they were nothing in her arms and started toward the stairs "Follow me please"  
  
As if the game designers had done NOTHING to show the size of this world at all, the inn had almost twice the number of rooms that it has normally. Link and I passed huge dormitories and small cabins filled to the brim with travellers obviously stuck here in the snow. I even caught a glimpse of a Zora or two. I briefly thought about Kestrel before following Anju again.  
  
"You've got a small one room suite I'm afraid," Anju said bringing out a set of keys  
  
"That's alright, at least you've got room" Link smiled "I guess the snows keeping everyone here"  
  
"Yes" Anju confirmed fitting the keys to a lock "It's strange, the snow has come a little early this year, it wasn't due for another two months"  
  
"What?" I blurted "A little early? That's WAY early, that's like very, very early!"  
  
Link patted my arm "Down girl, it's probably just a weather blip"  
  
"Hope so" Anju smiled and put our bags down, patting her belly lightly "I would like it to be a spring package"  
  
I grinned "Oh wow! How many months are you?"  
  
"Around one and a half" she replied beaming "My husband Kafei is so pleased! He's gone out of the Town for a few days to a ranch down in the south east" her smile fell a little "Around two weeks ago though...he hasn't retuned yet...I'm sure he will do"  
  
"Yeah" Link smiled, though I'm sure I caught a worried look in his eyes "He's probably just keeping there till the snow lets up. He'll be right along soon, don't you worry"  
  
"Thanks" Anju gave Link the key and hurried off "Dinners at 7pm!"  
  
We picked up the remainder of our stuff and stepped through the doorway into a small cosy red little room with two beds, a washstand, screen, chairs and table. A chest stood at the end of each bed and orange drapes hung from the windows.   
  
"Your flirting is so beneficial to the rest of us you know" I bounced on the bed appreciatively "I told you it was the shampoo"  
  
Link shrugged "I have that affect on women, ask Zelda"  
  
I raised my eyebrow "I'd rather not know what you to 'get up to'"  
  
"Fine" he shrugged again with a smirk "What time is it?"  
  
I was the only one in Termina with a digital watch obviously.  
  
"5:18pm" I read, "We have an hour or two to kill. What do you think about Kafei?"  
  
"Who?"   
  
I kicked him "You know 'whom', Link. I've played you before and I know what went on here. You helped Kafei and Anju get married when you were a kid, so obviously you care about them. Even a little bit"  
  
"Fine, maybe a little worried. One, the snow has come early. Two weeks is a LONG time, and with Anju pregnant, snow would NOT hold him up. Believe me, you know about all the stuff with that stupid mask as well as I do"  
  
"Yeah, parental instinct" I nodded knowingly  
  
"Pass me that bag, we'll unpack now"  
  
  
  
  
  
So...what did you guys think?? Are you intrigued with the snowy part???? Well?? Read, review and be happy guys ^_~ 


	6. Spilt Soup? Among Other Things

THANKYOU! *bows as flowers are thrown at her* you guys are really too kind to me. As you know:  
  
1) Lucy will be in it but you need to be patient  
2) A new member of the team may be added  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Zelda or any of the characters from it. Blah, blah, blah, blah, etc, etc.  
  
And now, another chapter of 'Why Is It Always Me?" II: Out Of The Dark! I was told people wait up to ten months for a chapter 0_o really? Would you guys really wait that long for a good story? Obviously not this one of course but awww that is so sweet! But what's really annoying if one fic only puts up one chapter and then never continues! Grrrr! Don't you hate that? Now on with the show!  
  
  
  
  
The dining room was packed; at least sixty people were crammed into a room the size of a...I don't know, a tennis court. All jostling through small gaps with large bowls of soup and glasses of mead and beer. After an adventure with mead, I wasn't too keen to try it again, it was too easy to spike if you know what I mean.  
  
(A/N: see first story, around third chapter?)  
  
I'd lost sight of my companion Link several minutes ago and was now trying to navigate me way through a room full of travellers as hungry as horses with a plate of food I was having to hide to keep people from stealing!   
  
I cursed quietly and shoved past two particularly burly men with difficulty, only to succeed in having a bowl of scolding soup thrown onto my chest.  
  
I dropped my tray with a large clatter.  
  
"Ah S***!!"  
  
"Oh my god, sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry" I felt a pair of hands with a dish cloth begin to mop up my top and press a second freezing cold, damp tea towel onto the skin that had been hit which was presently agonising.  
  
I pushed them away and mopped it myself wiping tears of pain off my cheeks mercilessly.  
  
"I'm sorry, please come with me to the kitchen, we need cold water" the hands and apologetic voice pulled me through the crowd with authority and to, I assume, the kitchen's general direction  
  
I was hauled through a pair of cloth flaps and was pushed down on a stool, I pressed the towel to my skin harder in an effect to get rid of the pain or at least muffling it a bit.  
  
"Anju! Quick! I spilt soup on some girl!"   
  
I squealed as someone prised the towel away from me roughly and against my protest start to undo my shirt and I started to push them away.  
  
"Hold still, silly girl"   
  
I opened my eyes slightly to look into Anju's auburn ones tearfully.  
  
"I need to treat this"   
  
I let my hands drop and Anju pressed a jug of cool water onto the scolded area. I sighed as the heat dropped away to only a little discomfort. I wiped my eyes with my now free hands and looked about the kitchen.  
  
I t was dimly lighted with one flame, probably all the staff were in the bustle outside, and shadows were thrown across the white washed walls.  
  
Anju smile reassuringly to me and said, "Don't worry. Hey, Sao"  
  
Someone shuffled out from the shadows, a young man dressed in a serving outfit, with black hair and a darkly tanned face. Since I was still recovering from the shock of having soup thrown all over me, I didn't react to the fact I was sitting there with my shirt open in front of a male stranger.  
  
"Yes?" he asked, I recognised his voice as the culprit with the bowl and towels  
  
"Go out and get the one she came in with, a man with blonde hair, a Mr Link" Anju said and waved her hands "Please"  
  
"Sure" he went back out through the flaps into the noise outside  
  
I stared out after him, he wasn't from the game, must have been another local they'd left out. I winced in pain as Anju applied something to the afflicted area. I looked at it closely, looked like a cream or something. Later I was informed it was made of bats droppings.   
  
I wrinkled my nose and sat it out in silence.  
  
Anju patted my shoulder "All done, don't think badly of Sao, he's just a little clumsy sometimes"  
  
"Sometimes" I muttered "Right"  
  
"Are you alright?"  
  
Sao had come back in, Link following close behind. Link came in then turned around.   
  
"Er...shirt" I heard him cough  
  
I blushed and pulled my shirt together.   
  
Anju hit Sao.  
  
He turned around as well.  
  
I did up my buttons.  
  
Sao was very apologetic after that; he kept bowing and spluttering apologies and stuff. It was a little scary that he was so sorry about the accident. In the end I told him loudly to stop being so pathetic and just go and do his job. This earned me a guilt trip and a small clip on the ear from Link standing over me.  
  
I didn't feel much like eating anymore, so I informed Link that I'd have an early night.  
  
He informed me he was going to go drink mead with some men he'd made friends with.  
  
When I quizzed him on this, he told me it was to look for information.  
  
On what? He still hadn't told me what we were doing. I decided not to bother waiting for him, and began the journey back to our room. If I could remember where it was.  
  
It took me around five minutes to find my room and when I did find it, I found I had forgotten my key. I kicked the door and slid down the wall to sit on the floor.   
  
"Typical" I muttered "Do I not get a break in a run of bad luck? First, I am burnt with soup by a clumsy serving boy, second, I am locked out of my room"  
  
I tapped the floor impatiently. He'd wouldn't be back for ages.  
  
I sighed again "Cheer up, you're the one who wanted an adventure" I smiled, yeah, I had wanted this  
  
Ah well. Nothing to do but sit it out, not going downstairs again. Link was probably roaring drunk by now. I grinned, thinking how stupid he'd look drunk.   
  
I yawned, I was tired now, rubbing the burn absently, I closed my eyes and tried to block out the noise from downstairs.  
  
Not go to sleep in case he did come back drunk or I was robbed or something.  
  
But, as luck would have it once more, I ended up falling asleep. My eyelids dropped against my will and my breathing slowed. Soon I couldn't keep awake.  
  
* * *  
I awoke to a sound of scuffling. A few muffled voices. Rolling over, I discovered I was *still* in the hall, however, lying down right across the width of it. And my neck was aching.  
  
I rubbed my eyes and looked at my watch in the darkness (meh heh heh don't you love digital watches?) 3:56am. I growled and sat up slowly rubbing my neck.  
  
Where was Link? He should have been back ages ago. Probably still drinking. Or if he was back, I looked at where the door would have been if it had been light, why the hell hadn't he let me in? Or woken me?   
  
I frowned; it looked pretty much the same as earlier. And I doubted he'd have gone in without me. Unless he really was drunk.  
  
Another scuffle.  
  
I jumped at the sound now that I wasn't half asleep. I drew up against the wall and stood up slowly.  
  
Down the hallway? Or...there it was again. A short sound of light footsteps and whispering. I bit my lip and peered ahead into the darkness.  
  
Nothing.  
  
Either they were two far away or...  
  
I span and put my ear against the door to our room.  
  
Voices.   
  
They were in our room. OUR ROOM! I banged on the door loudly, hearing the people inside yell and then more whispering followed by silence.  
  
I grinned, this always happened movies, and they were waiting for ME to come into the room. Well, they were going to come here because I was NOT going in there.  
  
S***.  
  
All my weapons were in there.  
  
Oh well. I moved away from the door and waited.  
  
I think they must have been waiting as well because for a full five minutes nothing happened.  
  
"Oh for the goddesses sake" a voice from inside the room cried exasperatedly "Are you going to come in or not?"  
  
"What if they've gone for help?" another, deeper, voice asked worriedly  
  
"What, him? He's the hero of time, like he'd run away"  
  
"What if it was the girl?"  
  
"Then she'd go for help"  
  
"Shall we look?"  
  
"You can"  
  
"No"  
  
"Why not?"  
  
"Because...I'm older, that's why"  
  
These people proceeded to have an argument about the rules of courage and bravery while I stood out in the hall completely bewildered at what these people were actually arguing over and why they were doing it in my bedroom.  
  
Since I didn't have any weapons, I decided just to take a peek underneath the door to see whether feet were visible in the crack.  
  
I knelt on the floor, then lay on the floor, and peered beneath into the room ahead.  
  
This was stupid, for the next moment they must have decided who was going to look outside and I heard footsteps moving with authority towards the door.  
  
Before I had time to react it was thrown open and I was looking across the floor into a pair of very big boots.  
  
I followed their lead to look into the face of their owner. A large gruff looking man, with dark skin and a very large sword.  
  
He looked just as surprised as me, but he soon recovered and drew the sword.  
  
"Er..." I smiled nervously "You seem to be in my...room..."  
  
The man grabbed my shirt and pulled me up hard, I would have kicked him or something. You know, something heroic. But I was...er...still surprised.  
  
"Look what I found" The guy held me up & turned around while shutting the door "I caught a rat"  
  
His partner turned away from the window and looked to see what his friend had caught. I gasped as I caught sight of him  
  
Slim, dark, slim build, sword.  
  
Sao.  
  
  
  
  
  
Ooooooh what do you think? Another longer-than-average-chapter today, we are also graced with another cliffhanger. So what do you think? Eventful? Not eventful? Liked, didn't like? Hate? Read, review and be happy people! 


	7. Kidnappings and Dark Omens

Wow, thanks for the reviews, you all rule ^_^ I'm glad you keep coming back. Thanks for the support; I'm now on a grand total of four favourite lists!!! Yes, thanks for your support! I wouldn't even be writing this without you! Yay you, yay me! Anyway, last chapter was probably shorter than it looked when I was writing it on my computer, but they do take a while to write. Any way we are now in the dilemma of a cliff-hanger status!   
  
So now I don't have to keep you any later than you want to be kept. Let's get on with the show. (You have no idea how many times I've re-written this chapter! I think this is like the fifth or sixth time)  
  
  
  
  
  
Sao looked at me but couldn't see clearly, so he brought out what looked like a flint and lit a candle from the table in the room. He looked again, I looked at him; it was one of those moments when the putting face to name takes a while.  
  
"You" he got out finally and frowned "This is a little awkward"  
  
"You're telling me?" I motioned to the grip on my shirt by his companion  
  
Sao sighed; he seemed different from when I'd seen him earlier, taller and more confident. His friend shook me with a sort of father like grip to the answering back.  
  
"Don't say anything girl," my captor growled, "You don't know who you're dealing with"  
  
Sao didn't say anything more but moved to the window. He seemed a little tense now and moved away from the window quickly and blew out the candle.  
  
So now, I was hanging by someone's fist, in the dark. Perfect. What a day this was turning out to be. Sleeping in a hallway and being captured.  
  
"Come on, Croa" Sao said to his companion, "We have to get back to camp, bring the girl"  
  
"Fine with me"  
  
I was lifted and heaved up and over to land on his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. I heard the door open and we trundled into the dark corridor.  
  
"Why are you in my room?" I asked loudly, hoping perhaps Link might be waiting to spring on these guys or something  
  
"Got lost, didn't we?" Sao's voice cut through the dark  
  
"Are you kidnapping me?"  
  
For some reason, I wasn't actually that frightened of these guys, I still had the mental picture of a spluttering, soup spilling, Sao in my head.  
  
"Yes"  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Do kidnappers ever tell their victims why?"  
  
"No, but...HELP, HELP, HELP, HEEEEEEEELLLLLLLLLPPPPPP"  
  
I heard muffled voices and yells of anger from the rooms along the corridors and small cracks of light started to appear under doors. A baby cried somewhere.  
  
"S***!" I heard the huge bulk beneath me rumble  
  
I yelped as a swipe aimed at my head connected roughly. I swung out my feet and fists wildly, hoping to hit whoever hit me first; I think I hit the one named Croa below me a few times.  
  
Hands grabbed my wrists and ankles and I was dropped for a frightening moment before being suspended by two pairs of hands.  
  
Doors were opened a little way down the hall and light flooded the corridor as confused faces looked out into the long space.  
  
"What's going on out there?"  
  
"We're trying to sleep in here!"  
  
"Do you need assistance?"  
  
"What's happening?"  
  
I took my chance with the confusion and brought my knee up quickly to connect with Sao's low hanging face, my knee hit him smack in the nose and my wrists were dropped suddenly as he lifted his hands to the sore spot.  
  
He yelled, and almost immediately I punched up to hit his companion hard in...the spot. Yeah.  
  
He yelled and let go, I scrambled up and shot down the corridor as fast as my leg could take me, ignoring all the people asking questions and yelling at me.  
  
"Run, run, run, run, run, run" I chanted under my breath as I could feel the stitch beginning to creep up my side, I grabbed the aching part and dug my nails in, replacing the unhelpful pain with what I hoped would be a more useful one  
  
Where was Link? Just when he'd be useful!  
  
"Come back here!" I heard come one scream, Sao most likely, his friend would be in too much pain  
  
I just continued to run until I reached the stairs, checking my watch I discovered it was only 4:23am and the door to the inn wouldn't be unlocked yet.   
  
Just my luck, I swerved a corner and came face to face with my saviour...  
  
No. It wasn't Link.  
  
It was the upstairs exit of the inn! Yes! How lucky was that? And it was always open in the game...but would it be here?  
  
Yes! It was!  
  
I shoved it open and galloped out on to the roof, breathing in the cold air and dashing to the edge of the roof.   
  
I drew a sharp breath and froze on the edge of the roof, but not because of the cold.  
  
There was someone in the courtyard below. Two people. They were standing in the entrance to a small entry way and looking straight across at the inn. I don't think they had seen me amazingly enough, after my display of glee at the open door. They were looking at the lower level windows.   
  
One looked familiar, so familiar that I couldn't quite place who he was. They were half hidden in shadow so I could only see their feet clearly.  
  
But the boots of one of them, and the easy stance they were taking, the way their weight fell and the style of clothing they were wearing...  
  
"Link?" I whispered  
  
The noise was enough to alert them of my presence and at the same moment that the one that looked like Link stepped out from the alley, Sao and Croa dashed out on to the roof.  
  
But I wasn't bothered with them anymore; this figure below drew up and out of the shadows.  
  
Then I knew it wasn't Link.  
  
The figure was completely clad in black. As I saw his face, I couldn't focus on any of his features, my eyes just seemed to go straight through them, the only place I could clearly concentrate on was the eyes. And the eyes were awful.  
  
A set of blood red pupils set in eyes. He narrowed them on my and grinned, a large wolfish grin, it was the expression someone got from killing without mercy, and enjoying it.  
  
He moved out into the courtyard and toward the inn, that awful face in the same malicious expression.  
  
I felt faint and dizzy as it moved toward me, as if waves of fear itself were coming off his figure and intoxicating me, making me sick.  
  
I started to let my head drop, afraid of what would happen if I let the dizziness over come me, of what the figure was doing.  
  
A loud scuff of snow and a yell like nails screeching down a black board accompanied my fall into unconsciousness.   
  
* * *  
  
I woke up to a steady thudding and rocking beneath me. My head hurt. I got an itch on one cheek and tried to raise my arm to soothe it, realising I couldn't, I opened my eyes.  
  
I was riding across the snowy field with the Town stretched out behind me under the pale silk moon.  
  
I looked at my wrists; they were tied to the horse's saddle. Looking at the ground, I felt dizzy again and almost toppled over and off the horse.  
  
A hand caught me and set me straight again.  
  
"Don't want you falling off now, do we?" a voice behind me said smoothly  
  
I twisted my neck painfully to meet Sao's humour-filled eyes.  
  
I realised that I was staying in a sitting position from riding in front of him and being tied to the saddle horn.  
  
The snow was still falling, though not as heavy as earlier and I tried in vain to wipe the tickling flakes from my face with my shoulder. Wrapped in someone's blanket I was being transporting at full gallop in a snowfall.  
  
There's a first for everything I guess.  
  
It was slightly scary but exhilarating going across at full gallop on the back of a horse and having no idea where you're going.  
  
"What happened?"  
  
"You fainted"  
  
"What the hell was that thing?"  
  
"Forget about it, you'll have plenty of time to think about it later"  
  
But I wasn't having any of this "Let me go, kidnapper"  
  
I wriggled and began to pull my hands away as hard as I could from the saddle horn, trying to kick out at Sao as I did so. It's harder than it sounds.  
  
His grip turned rough as if I'd activated the violence switch. He hit my head hard enough to confuse me for a moment and when I'd become un-confused he'd gagged me and tied my feet to the stirrups. I had no idea how he'd managed to do it in such a short amount of time but now I couldn't speak or move.  
  
"What happened?" a horse with the large Croa came up behind us  
  
"She woke up" came the reply  
  
"Yes" he agreed scowling at me, "What happened then, what was that?"  
  
"Tried to escape" he replied  
  
"Wouldn't be escaping if I were you, you don't know what's will come next"  
  
I hate cryptic people.  
  
"Tell me what you mean," I said, making a weird 'muff muff muff' noise instead of what I'd meant to come out  
  
He laughed and so did Sao, vibrating through my back "All I can say is that it's your own fault if you fall into misfortune"  
  
I grunted, it was my own fault, I'd wanted to come here, wasn't going to admit that though.  
  
I shuffled on the saddle uncomfortably.  
  
"Go back to sleep" Sao said "You annoy me less when you do that"  
  
"Muff muff muff" I huffed and settled down into my sitting/pulled up position again while closing my eyes. I have to admit; it was nice having a human heater to keep the cold away behind me.  
  
I could hear soft hoof beats below and behind me. Where was Link? Trust him to disappear when I was being kidnapped. Had I seen him back there, in the courtyard, in the small entry with someone else?  
  
I couldn't be sure what I'd seen, but I knew it wasn't Link. But if it wasn't Link, but reminded me so much of him, what was it?  
  
  
  
  
  
  
How was that chapter? I've written about eight versions of this chapter and might re-write it again. It's up to you, I'm kinda in trouble with this story, I can't remember where we were going! I'm stuck. Reviewers, it's up to you, what are your opinions and ideas? 


	8. Arrivals and Upsetting Stories

Thanks for the reviews *smile*, I really needed those comments, I was soooo soooo sooo upset with the last chapter I almost deleted it all. Anyway, so now we have a...wait for it...bad guy! Woo! I think some of you had a good idea who it was, eh? Well let me tell you:  
  
1) If you think you know whom the bad guy we just saw is, good for you, if you don't, wait. I have to tell you though, he's not the only bad guy coming up!  
2) Are you fed up with waiting for Lucy? Then you will be in luck, we are nearing her grand debut  
3) Want a couple? I'm mulling some thoughts over  
4) Want Link back? Wait.  
  
There, ok? A few and not a few questions answered for you all. Ok? I really want to try and make this story go somewhere in this chapter! My confidence is renewed! Any comments read and review! I can take constructive criticism! Anyway if some of this chapter seems a little out of order with the original fiction tell me, I couldn't be bothered to re-read the whole thing to find the history I wanted!  
  
  
  
  
The small girl raced down the school step sand out into the playground where all the parents of the young children waited to collect them.  
  
Excited that she would be going home now, she didn't notice that she ran straight into someone. With a yelp she fell forward, grazing into the concrete surface of the yard.  
  
"Sorry"  
  
She looked up into the eyes of a woman, a tall and pale woman. She was very beautiful, but still gave her a shiver as she looked at the perfect features.  
  
The woman's smile was cold.  
  
"Are you alright?"  
  
"Yes" she wanted to get away from here as soon as possible and away from this stranger, the other children didn't even notice her discomfort  
  
She began to back slowly away.  
  
The woman followed "Have you seen a mask anywhere?"  
  
She shook her head quickly, the woman's smile faded and she struck the small girl hard.  
  
"I know you have seen it!" the woman hissed "The imp has hidden it, hasn't he, HASN'T HE?"  
  
The small girl got up and ran.  
  
* * *  
  
I woke up with a start.  
  
Since when did Reika appear in my dreams? It had been three years ago that we'd defeated her and sealed her in the sacred realm, and I didn't even meet her when I was that young. Maybe memories where mingling together. It was till frightening.  
  
The age in the dream...I hadn't told anyone then that I could see things...they hadn't been sealed off then.  
  
I brushed the thoughts away and looked around.  
  
I must have been asleep for at least an hour because we were drawing up to a group of tents ahead, and they'd been nowhere in sight when I had been awake. So I guessed I'd been asleep for a while. My neck and my head and all my bones were aching for the horse ride and the constant sitting up position. The gag in my mouth had dried my lips and I could taste blood on my tongue from where they'd chapped.  
  
I was still tired though, but I pushed the sleepiness away and concentrated on what we were pulling up to. It must have been around midday as the sun was right overhead, the dark snow clouds had moved on and the sky was chilly but clear.  
  
Ahead was a large camp, placed under two large crevices of rock that I assumed kept the wind off it, and composed of around what looked to be 10 or canvas tents in a circle around a large canopy. Under the canopy sat a large group of men. Big men, mean looking men, with big knives and wrapped in furs. I half expected them to be roasting a person on the fire they were sitting easily around.  
  
I jumped out of my skin as Sao yelled to them all, waving frantically, as if he was a little kid or something. He was definitely please to see these guys.  
  
To my surprise, instead of biting him or attacking us (as I was sort of thinking they looked like the might) their faces broke into smiles and they stood up to greet their incoming friends.  
  
This must have been the camp Sao was talking about. Maybe they were a tribe or something, living out in the wilderness. The large group of horses to the side of the camp, pitched together seemed to be their only means of transport, no carts or anything.   
  
No families that I could see, so I guessed they were using the horses as warriors do, to travel lightly in a group, I shuddered, and to pillage villages and rape women no doubt. I shuddered again.  
  
The men walked out from under the canopy to greet their companions. As we arrived and pulled to a stop, Sao and Croa dismounted and began to converse with their 'friends' and left me on the horse.   
  
I was a little scared of what was going to happen but then I realised if they were going to kill me, they'd have done it already and not have put up with the trouble of what we'd gone through at the inn.  
  
At the thought of the inn, I sent my thoughts back to Link and wondered for the millionth time where he was. And I shivered at the thought of the dark figure in the alley.  
  
I was brought back to my situation though when I was cut free from the saddle horn finally. But no such luck, they'd left the knots in tact so I was still tied up. Another large and burly man slung my over his shoulder and carried me under the canopy where I was dropped onto a rug.  
  
I couldn't get up from the floor though, since I was still tied up, so embarrassingly I had to be pulled and poked into a sitting position by Sao. Not thanking him at all, I ignored him completely as the rest of the men arranged themselves around the fire and me once more.  
  
Chatter broke out and they discussed what had happened while Sao and Croa had been gone and on to mundane stuff like the weather, the amounts of food stores they had left. All the boring stuff that people talk about when they are trying to convince someone (mainly me) that they are nothing out of the ordinary but are going to do something very out of the ordinary soon.  
  
Strangely enough, Sao was the smallest one there apart from me. Also the least smelly. I don't know whether they hadn't taken a bath or had just worked out or something but the large men smelled of sweat and animal skin. Men.  
  
Soon, I presently grew bored and as if to save me someone announced, "Silence"  
  
Immediately all the men grew silent and I was amazed that someone had managed to sub due all these males.   
  
They all looked to the edge of a canopy where another male was walking purposely toward the centre of the ring next to the fire. He sat down and where he sat happened to be opposite me. I guessed this was the one they'd been waiting for, I guessed that he was going to decide what to do with me, or that Sao had been following his orders or something. Leader person or whatever else you call them.  
  
He was a median man, as the men in the ring went, and had the same curly black hair and skin tone that Sao had and had a small beard. He was dressed in pale brown furs and had a huge broadsword attached to his back, that and his huge arms and legs gave the impression that he was a warrior.  
  
Everyone was silent for what seemed like forever. He just sat and stared at me, unfortunately this meant that all the other guys followed his lead and stared at me as well. I looked at the ground.  
  
"So" he said slowly, he had a very calm and low voice "You found them"  
  
"Yes sir" Sao said, bowing low "There were no problems"  
  
A chuckle ran round the group, Sao was sporting the beginning of a black eye and his friend had turned red.  
  
"Of course. But where is the Hero of Time?"  
  
"We had a problem there sir" Sao said slowly and regretfully bowing again "He wasn't with her and didn't show up. We would have gone to look for him but the Shadow Man threatened the mission so we had to leave incomplete"  
  
"I see" the man rubbed his beard smooth, and said thoughtfully "Why is she tied up and gagged?"  
  
"We had an arrangement problem" Sao replied  
  
I raised my nose stubbornly, a problem, I was going to be a problem in a minute.  
  
Sao removed my gag and began to say "She tried to~"  
  
"I demand to be returned to my inn this instant!" I said loudly in my most demanding voice with all the airs I could put on "I have the right to be, if you thieves took anything from my room or if anything is missing on my return I also demand compensation...and a horse to ride on"  
  
There was a moment of silence, and I actually thought they would do it. But then someone chuckled and the whole group roared with laughter. Even their calm leader. I felt my face going hot but I continued looking down my nose at them.  
  
It took about five minutes for them to calm down again and even then they kept on smiling.  
  
"Well" said the leader, wiping away a tear "That was a funny joke, have you another?"  
  
"Why you~" I grated my teeth "What is going on here? Why were you sending people into my room? IF YOU DON'T TELL ME I WILL SCREAM AS LOUD AS I CAN AND THEN YOU'LL BE FOR IT!"  
  
This granted another round of laughter but I was too mad to be embarrassed. I sat shaking with rage and imagining all the sharp little sticks I could poke into each and every one of them before they died.  
  
I waited until they'd all stopped once more and then said quietly "Well?"  
  
The leader eyed me again and said quietly "You're a clever actor, I might have believed you to be an innocent and normal girl if I had not known the truth. But as it is, you should stop being a child"  
  
"Who's acting?" I asked, "What am I supposed to be acting out? I think you have me confused with someone else"  
  
"There is no mistake" he said calmly "Even if you've changed in the time, I know a cross-seer when I see one"  
  
"A what?"  
  
"One that can see things from other worlds"  
  
I had a sinking feeling in my stomach "Why do you think I'm one of these 'cross-seers?"  
  
"Because that was what Reika was after"  
  
I felt dizzy, how did this guy in 'Termina' know of our battle? How did he know who I was? Had he been in the war in Hyrule?  
  
The man noticed my discomfort and continued, "She wanted Gannondorf, but her magic and even combined magic with Majora's Mask wasn't enough so she wanted a sacrifice"  
  
"How do you know that?" I whispered   
  
Hearing him say it so matter of factly started rustling my memories of then, it hurt to remember the bodies on Hyrule field and the moment Link had been run through, when Lucy disappeared into the hole, seeing her bruised after being tortured.  
  
He didn't reply but continued, "You know what happened after that but what you don't know is Reika's reasoning behind her sacrifice. Some people know when a seer is close. She knew one of you was one, but she didn't know whom, it could have been the Hero of Time, the Zora, or the two girls so why not sacrifice all of you? A seer is a much more powerful sacrifice that a straight up Hylian. So she did it. Part of the reason the war was started was because she wanted a seer" he paused "Termina and Hyrule were the only places she could go to find one, but your friend the Hero of Time decided to bring one straight into the tigers jaws"  
  
I looked straight at the ground half hoping I'd be able to block out what he was saying. So had I been part of the true cause of the wars suffering?  
  
"Of course he wasn't to know, he just needed some help, so don't blame him" the man stood up and stretched  
  
My rage had melted into something like depression. So I was a seer, which would explain why I had seen Link when I was small and other people from this world. And why Reika had been so hot to get her hands on Lucy, and me, I'd been the one she'd been after. So was it my entire fault so many people had died?  
  
And I'd wanted to be a hero, my judgement was so crap these days, and I was only 17.  
  
"Listen to me girl" the leader said, I looked up at him "Don't beat yourself up over anything I've said, I was checking you knew the story"  
  
I blinked.  
  
"I just wanted to make sure I had the right girls" he grinned  
  
I blinked again. Girls?  
  
"You can't mean..."  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Cliff-hanger!!! Mwa ha ha ha ha ha! I am so evil! So what do you think? Hmm? Reviews please! I need to sort out any inconsistencies! So after ages of no chapters, here are two in a week! Lucky people! And you know what's coming next don't you? 


	9. Meetings And Things Sound bad

Well, wasn't that exciting? One thing I forgot:  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Zelda  
  
Don't sue me, please, I have no money! And what money I do have goes on Japanese CD's and games and comics! Take pity on my dear friends! Anyway, back to the story, I hope your enjoying this ^_^ even though I don't know where I'm going to take this next. Someone asked for a longer chapter, I can't do that, my attention span works in leaps and bounces, but I shall try, for your pleasure readers!  
  
  
  
  
"You can't mean..."  
  
I looked straight at him, looking for signs of a lie or sarcasm. Was it possible? I looked around at the other occupants of the ring, were they kidding? I had no idea. I looked back at the man, frowning.  
  
The big man laughed heartily and slapped his chest as he bowed deeply "My name is Shigeru, young lady, it is an honour to meet one of the four who saved the joint worlds of Termina and Hyrule"  
  
I made a short, bow, kind of. But being tied up it was a little difficult, and anyway, I could do nothing more than stare at this large Shigeru.   
  
I felt my hands and legs be untied, but felt no inclination to run away. I needed to be sure he wasn't joking.  
  
"Come" Shigeru grinned, showing his white teeth once again, but I paused, he stopped and turned back "I'm not going to hurt you and I promise I never will. I assure you are safer here than back at your inn"  
  
I stumbled up, with a helpful push from Sao, I hit him on the way past and he made a mock sob and grinned as well. Rubbing my hands together against the snow I followed Shigeru out of the ring and toward the tents.  
  
We headed into one of the smaller tents, close up, the tents looked like skin or something like hide. Inside they were almost stifling, a large contrast to the freezing snow outside. The floor was covered with blankets and rugs, with nothing else anywhere apart from a few things like herbs and clothes hung from the supporting beams and ropes above.  
  
I looked around, and there she was. Huddled in blankets and shuddering, back to me, Lucy sat and mumbled grumpily to herself. I'd know the hair anywhere.  
  
Shigeru made a sort of introductory cough to make our presence known, and without turning round Lucy growled, "No, I do not want another 'welcome', thank you very much! Tell the next person who dares to stick his nose in the tent that" she brandished a curved sword like that of the men's in the air "I will personal make sure that the patter of little feet is NEVER heard again.... and bring some food next time!"  
  
I felt relief surge through me and dashed forward, wrapping my arms around her from behind and holding on to her tightly saying, "You stupid girl, what are you doing here? I thought you were revising, silly girl, just as stupid as me"  
  
I let go as I heard a choking noise, obviously my enthusiasm and relief was a little much and I'd cut off her air. She turned around, seeing me in my clothes from the palace and a smile lit up her face.  
  
"What are you doing here?" she asked, genuinely split between happiness and scolding me  
  
"Right girl?" Shigeru asked grinning  
  
I threw my arm around her shoulders and nodded "Now leave us alone" he left and I turned to Lucy "You tell me what you're doing here!"  
  
"Well" She said, "I was in my room, playing with that stone we got from Link and happily doing maths, well, not happily but, you know. Then somehow I was in this tent, with a load of guys and here I am. What are you doing here? Where is here?"  
  
I giggled, "You don't know where you are?"  
  
"No, I haven't left this tent, I grabbed a sword that they left here. Lying about on the floor for god's sake! And told them to get away before I stuck it in them, because I knew how to use it" she grinned "They didn't seem bothered and left, I reckon I was knocked out and brought here. That is the LAST time I play with a stone that I know can take me places"   
  
I wrapped my arms around her and said "The big man who was here said he was called Shigeru. He sent this guy our age called Sao and this big guy to break into my room and, I think, kidnap Link and me. But Link was out drinking" I didn't mention he hadn't come back at all, even to rescue me or anything "So they got me instead, and then this big black thing that I thought was Link but wasn't came and almost got me. But I got dizzy and fainted so then I woke up here, almost"  
  
"So where am I?"  
  
"Termina" I replied, "The opposite of Hyrule, I guess"  
  
"So we're...in a computer game?"  
  
"Yeah"  
  
"AGAIN?"  
  
"Yeah"  
  
"God damn it, can't they ever leave me out of their storylines?"  
  
"This is real Lucy"  
  
"I know, I know, I was kidding. So how did you get here?"  
  
"I told you"  
  
"No I mean BEFORE that"  
  
"Oh, well Link turned up at my house, said he needed help and I went"  
  
"Cool, is he still hot?"  
  
I sighed, now I should explain it "He's...unavailable"  
  
"What?"   
  
"Link got big and married" I sighed again "Time here goes faster than in our world. SO when we had three years go past, he had...ten"  
  
"Wow" Lucy seemed a little stunned, but then she grinned and said, "Who cares, plenty more fish in the sea"  
  
I must admit, my eyes seemed to feel to pop out of my skull right then, I'd never heard her drop anything that fast.  
  
"So..." I said slowly "You don't care he married Zelda and has three kids?"  
  
"Nah" Lucy winked "We're on an adventure again, what more should I care about? Now check out this sword!"  
  
I grinned; everything was always so simple to Lucy after we'd come back from Hyrule the first time, even though she didn't know it. She didn't care if things happened some ways or if they happened another, once she had another thing to look at, she forgot everything else.   
  
I suppose you could also call that having a fish mind, but then that's beside the point  
  
So I watched her swing her broad sword, getting into the swing of the moves Link had taught her when we'd been in Kakariko so long ago. I'd learnt the bow and arrow skills, barely considering we'd spent so little time practising (I considered myself a natural though).  
  
I thought about a lot of stuff. The swing of the blade and light glinting off it had a strangely entrancing effect. So I just watched it and thought. I wondered where Link was; surely he'd have turned up by now.  
  
We seemed to be safe here, Sao and Croa hadn't hurt me and Shigeru seemed honest enough about not hurting us. But that didn't mean they weren't going to trade something, or perhaps us, for supplies and stuff. I'd seen it happen all before...well, in films and stuff.  
  
What had been that thing in the square at the castle? I shuddered as I remembered the strange howl I'd heard before I'd passed out and the feeling of the fear washing over me, the sickness I'd felt in my stomach. The aching I'd felt in my bones...  
  
I jerked out of it as I realised Lucy was talking to me.  
  
"...They've been treating me alright here. I quite like the big guy, wasisname? Shigeru? Yeah, and the younger one, Sao is it?" Lucy stretched "He went off about two weeks ago...no...days? Hours? Damn the time difference"  
  
"Time is faster here, whereas you were taken probably less than a day ago our time, but three or four here?"  
  
"Seems right" Lucy nodded "Anyway, I haven't been out of this tent but I heard them saying good bye. I heard them saying something about seer, Hero of Time and stuff. No names though so I guess they don't know yours yet. I didn't tell them mine though. They seem to have a good idea who we are though"  
  
"I noticed" I thought for a moment "So what did they say they needed us for"  
  
"I don't know" Lucy scratched her head "I was half asleep but they sent Sao and the big guy to blend into the inn and wait for you to arrive. They were to bring you and Link back here unhurt and try to avoid contact with the...shadow man, was it? Yes that's it. If they were discovered before they had time to get both of you to come, they were to get who ever they could manage"  
  
"Me" I replied "I found them in our room"  
  
"Our?"  
  
"Two beds Lucy, 'our'"  
  
She folded her arms, "Good"  
  
"He's like twelve, thirteen years older then me" I protested  
  
"Doesn't stop people" she replied haughtily, "And he wasn't that old to begin with"  
  
"Anyway" I growled, "I guess they got me from the inn, I have no idea where Link went"  
  
"Well, I'm sure he'll turn up" Lucy grinned, "He always does"  
  
"Meanwhile, what are we going to do?" I wondered out loud "Should we try to escape? They do seem all right, they honestly don't seem to want to hurt us at all. It's freezing outside though, the snows been coming down ever since Link and me got to Termina"  
  
"So why did you come anyway?" Lucy asked leaning down onto a cushion and rolling the sword handle between her palms.  
  
"I don't know" I replied truthfully "At home, I was feeling restless and I wanted an adventure, I happened to discover Link in my kitchen. He said he needed help with something, so I went. We arrived, he dropped the bombshell of the time difference and we came here"  
  
"To do...?"  
  
"No idea"  
  
"He didn't tell you anything?"  
  
"Not a f***ing thing"  
  
We sat for a moment in silence, in with our own thoughts. I wondered what we had been here to do, thinking back over the last few events I began to see something that I hadn't noticed before. Water Temple. Opposite personas. Shadow Man. Something we had to deal with in Termina. Seers. My dreams of childhood I didn't remember.  
  
Were they connected? Now I thought about it, the dark person in the courtyard in Clock Town had seemed to be Link for a moment. And he'd had the same shape of body and everything. Except he was fear. I knew that in the Water Temple in the game you had to face your exact opposite, a polar self. Was it possible that Termina was being plagued by...?  
  
"Hey"   
  
I looked up to see Sao at sword point by Lucy's hand and looking helplessly at the sharp point next to his nose.  
  
"Lucy, stop it" I said sternly, I'd made my decision, we were going to stay and find out what these men were doing out here in the winter weather  
  
"Fine" Lucy lost interest in killing him immediately and sat down  
  
Sao sighed and rubbed his nose tenderly "Thank you"  
  
"What do you want?" I asked, "Are we prisoners?"  
  
"No" he grinned widely, "Quite the opposite actually"  
  
I raised my eyebrows "What does that mean?"  
  
"It means you are both free to wonder the camp as much as you like, you aren't prisoners here. We just need to take certain security measures"  
  
"Meaning?"  
  
"You can't leave the camp for any reason and you must have one us present with you at all times when you leave this tent"  
  
I groaned and flopped down onto a large cushion "So we are prisoners"  
  
"But with less restrictions" Lucy pointed out, turning to Sao she asked, "So why do we need these measures and why are we here?"  
  
"We're keeping you safe from a number of bad people who'd love to get their hands on the people who were responsible for Reika's defeat" Sao said slowly, as if he was explaining things to a very small child "I can't say more than that at the moment"  
  
"Who's the shadow man?" I asked steadily  
  
Sao jumped back as if I'd verbally given him an electric shot, "How do y~ who's that?" he chuckled nervously "What are you talking about?"  
  
I sighed, "Don't be stupid, from your reaction and what Lucy's been eavesdropping on" Lucy ducked her head apologetically "We've pieced together that we're important to you somehow and that your afraid of slash fighting against someone who you call the Shadow Man. Obviously this is a nick name because I'm having a completely different theory on this guy put through my head"  
  
Sao stood there and stared at me "I'm not at liberty to..."  
  
"Divulge information?" Lucy supplied helpfully "Don't worry, this is mostly new to me to" she looked at me "Thanks for sharing"  
  
"It just came to me" I apologised, "Now you are going to take us to Shigeru"  
  
He looked stunned, but I'd somehow gotten it into my head that I was going to be obeyed because I was this Seer person to them. It always happens that people with powers get revered, for different reasons sometimes but essentially revered.  
  
Sao shuffled on his feet indecisively, he seemed to come to a decision because he snapped to attention at once and motioned for us to follow him outside of the tent.  
  
We did so. As soon as we stepped out of the door, the cold weather hit us again and we realised we weren't wearing clothes like these guys and we began to feel the cold even more harshly.  
  
We headed across the open ring and under the canvas, past the fire and the other men. Who all stared as if we'd popped out of the ground and told them we were gods. Sao stepped into the tent that Shigeru had appeared out of on the first meeting and Lucy and me were quick to follow.  
  
Inside Shigeru's tent it became strikingly obvious that he was the big cheese. The leader of these guys, even more so than before. His tent was decorated more grandly than ours had been and had the bearing of its regal occupant.  
  
Sao stood next to Shigeru and I marvelled at their likeness once more before seeing that Shigeru didn't look that pleased. He didn't look angry, more like he was frustrated or worried.  
  
"I thought the matter was clearly explained" Shigeru said quietly  
  
I drew and indignant breath and exclaimed "You told us nothing!"  
  
Shigeru looked down his nose "It depends how you value information. I told you the story and reasons of Reika's fall"  
  
"And how the hell does that relate to the present?" I almost screeched across the space at him  
  
"It has EVERYTHING to do with the present" Shigeru snapped, he stood up and walked over till he was almost on my toes, he looked down at me and leaned in to whisper "Nothing is ever meaningless child, don't forget that"  
  
Sao took over to try and calm the almost fuming Shigeru "What he is trying to say is that the past always affects the present. Your actions always catch up to you. Cause and effect"  
  
"So what is going on?" Lucy asked bewildered, we all looked at her "Sorry, I've been out of the loop and..."  
  
"Cause and effect" Sao continued, "The early snowfall in Termina isn't an accident, and it's the effect of something. A spell most likely. Our tribe usually live in the mountains but the men of the tribe who go out to trade with Clock Town in the summer were caught before getting through the pass back up to the mountains. We're trapped till spring"  
  
I sat down on the cushions, no one asked me to, but hey, almost 18, I could do what I wanted.  
  
"While we were camped here, we came under attack by a larger group of Moblins and Stalfos under the leadership of a man cast in shadow. We fought off most of them but several of our men were" Sao paused "Well, they were killed. Good men they were as well. The all fought one of the attackers and died. Yet, as we thought that we would all be killed, the creature cast in shadow spoke. It's voice filled dour hearts with fear and despair and yet we listened..."  
  
Shigeru grunted, "It said 'Unless, the Hero of Time is summoned with the woman Reika's defeaters then this land will over taken by darkness'"  
  
I smiled wryly "Was it a threat?"  
  
"What do you think? A messenger was sent to Hyrule, to report the incident and ask for the assistance of the Hero of Time from the Queen and King of that land. Yet even we were not expecting him to bring the seer with him. We sent Sao and Croa to the Inn to wait for his arrival"  
  
"So what is Link supposed to do? Are you handing him over to this dark man?" Lucy asked  
  
"No, we were hoping that he would have the power to stop these events from occurring. I am thinking now that he misunderstood and brought you right into the heart of danger" Shigeru sighed rubbing his beard slowly  
  
Lucy put up her hand "So why am I here?"  
  
"A complete set?" I ventured  
  
"We thought things would go in our favour if the original defeaters of Reika and Gannondorf before that were on our side" Shigeru replied  
  
"What about Kestrel?" I asked  
  
"Who?"  
  
"The Zora"  
  
"Ah, yes well, he was unavailable" Shigeru smiled "He was having family troubles with his wife"  
  
Ah, Fiona.   
  
"What family troubles?" Lucy asked interestedly   
  
"Well" Sao replied, "He said that Zora's do not take pregnancy lightly..."  
  
"Oh"  
  
So there I sat. In a tent in a the middle of a frozen land being told that I was being demanded to stop the darkness overtaking Termina, and then that I wasn't going to be handed over which, altogether prompted me to think that perhaps Termina was going to be given over to darkness.  
  
And all the while this dark figure was beginning to confirm my suspicions even more.  
  
"So what are you going to do now?" Lucy asked "If we're here then surely this guy is going to come back, right?"  
  
"Yes" Shigeru nodded slowly "But know we have you here we can set up a counter attack"  
  
"And what are we?" Lucy said  
  
"Good luck charms" grinned Sao "You can't fight can you"  
  
"Fight well enough for you buddy" Lucy muttered  
  
"As son as the hero of time turns up" Shigeru said "Then we can set up a counter attack to the Shadow Man and his forces and drive them out of Termina, hopefully this will be enough to return the seasons to normal"  
  
"And if not?" I asked quietly  
  
"Then we must pray that the darkness is not as bad as it sounds"  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
So, what do you think? How did this chapter go down? Yes, I know it's confusing but, you have to admit, I did make it longer! Yay me! So read, review and be happy guys! 


	10. Nothing But Ashes And Metal

Thank you for all the nice reviews, guys! You are so nice! I did miss your reviews! Sorry it took so long to get the last chapter out. I'm sort of heading the right direction. I need to get another person in somehow ^_^ but I'm not telling who! Anyway, hopefully this chapter will be longer again like the last one. Since they take ages to write, it'll be a while before I get this out, but lets hope not!  
  
This will be a very quick chapter so it'll probably need rewriting soon because I'm in my exam period so I've only got a little time.  
  
  
  
  
So we were waiting for Link, waiting being the exact literal activity. We were sat in a tent all day waiting for him to arrive. Nothing to do, all my stuff was at the inn and all Lucy's was at her house in our world.  
  
So we waited. For three days, and for another three days, the snow fell again and stopped, then fell again. It grew colder and colder. We went out of the tents only to go to the toilet. Which happened to be a hole in the ground away from camp. Our meals were brought three times a day and other than that we had no contact with anyone.  
  
Seven days. A week.  
  
Link didn't show up. But someone else did.  
  
It was late evening of the eight day of our waiting. By now Lucy and I had decided that all hope had gone and were waiting to be killed by the Shadow Man or for the world to end.  
  
We were just lying in the tent (again) and chatting about school, pretty ordinary considering we were in another world entirely. We began to hear orders being barked and footsteps that were half muffled by the snow.  
  
I sat bolt upright, was Link here finally? About time.  
  
But it wasn't Link who was carried in, wrapped in furs and being offered drinks of hot tea.  
  
It was Kafei.  
  
I hardly recognised him in adult form, and because he was almost blue from cold. But he was shivering and I heard leaving men and coming in men whispering hypothermia to each other.  
  
They lay Kafei on the opposite side of tent and piled yet more blankets and furs on top of him, feeding him soup and more tea followed by a cup of steaming water containing crushed herbs.   
  
Shigeru came in and went out again, and I recognised Croa as his companion, they talked to Kafei in hushed voices and went out again. Not looking at either Lucy or me on their way.  
  
I sat and listened, the camp was alive with activity compared to the quiet we'd experienced less than an hour ago. Was Kafei's arrival a sign of something?  
  
Kafei.  
  
Anju had been worried sick about him, and with a child too. She shouldn't be worrying like that during pregnancy; I had half a mind to tell him off. But then, he'd looked so cold and sick when they'd brought him in.  
  
"Well" Lucy said, "We have a companion"  
  
I nodded and crawled over the soft, carpeted floor to our new roommate. I peeled back the rugs on top him slowly and peered down at him.  
  
Adult Kafei, much better looking than his child version, yet his face still held that child like quality few boys hold on to. Anju must have fallen head over heels.  
  
He looked cold still, his teeth chattered and his eyes were bright with fever or whatever he had. He still had the strength to peer back at me though and grin through his shaken jaw.  
  
I smiled down at him it was quite entertaining to see his teeth chatter like one of those wind-up toys, "Cold out there?"  
  
"Y-y-y-ou bet"  
  
"Anju is dead worried about you, you know," I scolded gently  
  
His eyes widened and then he managed "You met Anju?"  
  
I nodded "I stayed at the inn for a while"  
  
"T-t-the inn, do you know about the baby?"   
  
"It's fine, not out yet but" I smiled "they're both fine, yet worried about you. Where have you been?"  
  
"Caught in a blizzard" he grinned, then sneezed  
  
I winced and wiped it away with his rug blanket "Nice"  
  
"S-s-orry" he grinned again, his eyelids drooped  
  
"No problem" I replied, then I had an idea "Kafei I know you're ill, but, did you see anything in the snow?"  
  
Kafei didn't answer, he just fell asleep. But I couldn't help but notice that when I had asked the question, his eyes had widened momentarily. So he did know something. That was why Shigeru and Croa had come in to talk to him.  
  
But what had he seen? The Shadow Man? Something worse?  
  
Whatever it was, he was asleep now, so I couldn't ask him.  
  
Silence had engulfed the camp again. In the distance I heard a lonely wolf cry and as the echo died away the quiet night returned.  
  
I turned back to Lucy and introduced Kafei to her, but since he couldn't reply it was more like a storyline session instead. I got her to grips with his life story and name and such.   
  
We didn't speak much, Lucy was intent on staring at Kafei, and I think perhaps she was slightly smitten. But of course she wasn't going to say anything because he was married and she knew as well as I did her crushes developed daily.  
  
So I left her alone and lay down on the floor, listening to the sounds of Kafei's laboured breathing and Lucy's soft movements. I listened to the sounds of the camp and thought about things. I wondered about this seer thing.  
  
So that was why I had seen Link until the accident. I winced at that thought and felt the spots where the old scars had long disappeared, but their presence remained in my head. I barely thought about them, I'd almost forgotten them, but they'd always been there to welcome me back.  
  
A seer, it felt like I'd caused so much trouble for being here last time. Was I causing it again? If this Shadow Man wanted us perhaps he meant to avenge the sealing of Reika in the sacred realm with Gannondorf, but she'd wanted Gannondorf, so I couldn't really see the problem.  
  
So we were here to fight against him, although we were the very things he wanted. I wish I could see where he was right now so I could run far, far away. That would be good.  
  
I wonder if I ever saw him when I was a child, a lot of people from Hyrule seemed to turn up at one point or another before...yeah. So maybe I'd caught sight of him before and that's why he'd seemed familiar. But I still had my theories on why I'd recognised him slightly.  
  
I was caught up in thinking about Link when I fell asleep.   
  
  
***   
  
I woke with a start, wiping night sweat from my face quickly. I suddenly felt deaf in the camp; I started and cried out in protest against this sudden denial of hearing, my cry breaking the silence and I gratefully returned the world of sound.   
  
I heard the familiar noises return to me, the movement of the other men in the other tents and Lucy's soft breathing, the new arrival of Kafei's laboured breathing and my own heart beating out to the sounds fo the night.  
  
"What the f*** is with all these dreams lately?" I hissed at myself wiping my palms down on the nearest rug  
  
It must have been around two in the morning because even though I hadn't looked at me watched, I could see a tiny patch of sky through a crack in the flap of the tent, it was dark, no trace of light.  
  
Yes, and now I was an expert because in the extreme boredom of waiting for Mr. Hero of Time to turn up I had been having sleepless nights, so I would guess the time, compare the sky to my watch and memorise it. Yes, that is how sad I had become.  
  
I watched a small gasp of air irritate the flap of the tent silently before crawling over to retie the strings once more to keep it shut.  
  
Something moved in the night.  
  
Freezing, I listened even harder, holding my breath.   
  
Nothing.  
  
It had stopped.  
  
Not even a wisp of wind blew across the open circle. The world has ceased to move for a moment.  
  
Still nothing.  
  
I let out a small sigh, relived.  
  
I began to tie the flaps again.   
  
A sword ripped through the canvas, a yowl of pleasure of the other side as the blade met the resistance it had seeked when buried itself into my stomach.  
  
Blood. I could see blood on the blankets. Dazed I stared at it, was it mine?  
  
Yells were going up now, joining in with my own cries of pain as I scrambled back off the blade which drew back on it's own accord, stained.  
  
We were under attack. Attack. Attack. The word flew up in my mind as I held my gut tightly.  
  
I heard Lucy faintly yelling but it was unclear, even Kafei's voice blended in to a haze of sound. Confused I looked back and saw her scramble up and grab her sword from the other side of the tent, horrified to the point of sickness at what she saw.  
  
Screaming in agony I moved myself backward as the tent flap was drawn back and the perpetrator stepped through in dark shadow.  
  
The shadow Man. I felt myself retch. Wiping my mouth I saw yet more blood running from my fingers, mine? No. Yes. I watched the figure with wide eyes.  
  
He drew into the tent pulling up to his full height, which darkened his figure even more and screeched that god-awful screech once more. I struggled to get back again, I heard Lucy screaming something once more, the sound pelting into my head along with his cries.  
  
Terror. Fear. Sickness. My body was losing itself in the darkness he seemed to bring in waves. Dizzy. Dying.  
  
He drew his sword back again and brought it down on to me once more. Pain exploded as it connected with my collarbone, the same place I'd been struck years before.  
  
He pushed me to the ground and strode past me; sounds of battle had erupted in seconds from outside. I heard screams, yells, battle cries and the smell of something burning had begun to drift in from outside.  
  
Link.  
  
I heard swords clash and a yelp and scream, Moblins rushed through the flap, striding past me, I was dead, they didn't need to finish me. I lay there, listening to the fray. Screams, cries, yells, smoke, battle.   
  
Dazed I looked up to see Lucy kicking and screaming in the arms of the Moblin, almost sick with fear and terror. Crying and trying to call out to me, reaching and straining, kicking out with all her strength.   
  
In a stream of memory I could remember Boromir. Lord Of The Rings. I remembered how he'd died like this, almost identical deaths.  
  
It was comforting thinking of that, I was a hero.   
  
I looked at my fingers again, scarlet. It didn't hurt anymore. Strange. I closed my eyes, the sounds fading away.  
  
I wondered where I was going to go when I died. Smiling I thought briefly of how stupid the situation seemed, dying on the floor of a tent in the middle of a battle.  
  
Joan of Arc sprang up as I felt myself slipping away.  
  
I closed my eyes gratefully, I was so tired. I hoped Lucy would be alright. She'd get saved by Link. I could rely on that.  
  
I was so tired and cold.  
  
  
* * *  
  
  
Burning. The smell of burning met my nostrils, irritating my sense of smell. I could taste blood in my mouth and I hurt all over.  
  
I tried to move and discovered to my dismay I couldn't.  
  
Was I dead?  
  
No, dead people can't feel or smell.  
  
My legs were wet and cold.  
  
I opened my eyes slowly and looked around.  
  
The camp was burnt to the ground; amazingly I was lying in the middle of it, pools of water all around and no one in sight that I could see. Ashes and remains of swords and arrowheads littered the floor.  
  
Alone.  
  
Confused, I wondered what had happened here before it all return to me. We'd been attacked. I'd been killed, or so I remembered. Why was there no pain?  
  
Screams, dead, burning.  
  
As it came back I threw myself up stiffly to vomit my disgust at the memories and myself. I'd let Lucy be taken by Shadow Man. I'd failed her again. How many times would this be cycled? Tears forced themselves out as well, tears for everyone who'd probably been burnt along with the camp.  
  
Sobbing and heaving I sat in the middle of nowhere.  
  
I finished.  
  
Wiping my mouth I froze in horror at myself. My hands were stiff from caked blood; they stank from the age of it. My front and side where a gory mess, they were stinking as much as my hands did, or worse.  
  
It came again.  
  
I threw up the last of my last meal and started to rip off my top, in the middle of the snow. Or not the snow since the heat had melted a small circle of snow away from where the camp had once stood.  
  
I stumbled up running across the camp, ripping my layer of clothes off, sobbing even harder and scrambling at the pools of melted snow, scrubbing my hands till there were numb and frozen, letting the cold air meet my skin, trying to get rid of the stinging smell of smoke. Striking the floor in anger and despair.   
  
I wasn't dead.  
  
No injury traces, just dried blood. Nothing. My hair stuck to my face stiffly from water and blood and I'm sure I looked a state.  
  
I wasn't naked, I still had my underwear on, and who was going to see? Everyone was dead.  
  
I felt guilty that I wasn't dead, what right did I have to live when I'd abandoned Lucy again?  
  
The seer always did bring bad luck. Just as I'd thought.  
  
Finishing my rampage I collapsed on the floor, freezing, but barely feeling it against numbness, in my underwear in a puddle.  
  
I was going to die here, in the middle of nowhere, slowly. I was in water; I'd get hypothermia or freeze soon anyway. Might as well wait for it.  
  
I'd worn myself out again, not even ten minutes after waking up. Exhausted once more I lay quite calmly in the pool and then decided I'd save death the job of waiting and rolled over.  
  
Telling my body to wait, I fought the temptation to pull up and out of the water. Drowning wasn't that bad anyway. I felt the water rippling on my body that was above the water level, and my hair floating and tingling my face.  
  
My lungs fought my head fiercely, wildly telling me to breathe, to pull air in and save myself. I ignored them, and breathed in a deep breath, finally submerging to haze once more.  
  
I knew what death felt like now, and I could feel it again crawling back into me in the space of air.  
  
A muffled scream, a yell. Memories? Real? Noises. Memories. Ripples of water on my face and arms, my skin tingled.  
  
Real.  
  
A loud thud, thudding, running. Someone near.  
  
No.  
  
My eyes snapped open.  
  
If someone came...if they'd come to find us, they needed to know what happened.  
  
More shouts and yells.  
  
They were there, hands reached down to grab me, I found the ways to make my own tired and fault arms work, I pushed myself up, gasping and choking, into someone's arms.   
  
Blinking water, sleep and death away I stared up into brown eyes. I coughed up the water that I'd breathed in so dedicatedly all over them, gripping who ever they were tightly to convince myself that this wasn't a vision or a dream.  
  
The arms were warm and furry.  
  
Furry?  
  
They were wearing furs. That was right, I was coughing up water and saliva all over these furs as the warm arms held me tightly as I did so.  
  
They drew me into a warm embrace, and gripped tightly, not minding I was coughing and spluttering still, trying to clear my water-blindness to identify them. I was grateful though; the human radiator by my side was welcome.  
  
"I thought you were dead, all of you!" someone was crying and sobbing, "I thought you were dead, but you're alive, alive, alive, alive, alive, the only one here. Thank the goddesses"  
  
Sao, Sao was the one cuddling and weeping over me. Relief flooded over me, I wasn't the only survivor. I began to cry again, the warm water collided with the cold water on my face and his tears dripping onto me.  
  
"You're alive," he repeated again and again, rocking and warming me slowly through the cold that enveloped my bones "Thank the goddesses, theres someone alive"  
  
I lay there and let him cry himself out, cry the grief away to a suitable distance for comfort for at least a while.  
  
He stopped after about half an hour and sniffed "Say something then" he said hoarsely "Are you dead?"  
  
"No" I whispered  
  
His grip tightened then loosened, I remained there, not sure what to do, I was still half dead I suppose, and realised dully that I was half naked in a guys arms.  
  
"Do you have anything for me to wear, I'm cold," I said a bit louder  
  
My own clothes were blood caked and soaked, there was no way I would willingly put them on again.  
  
He didn't seem fazed by this, as if he was used to having girls in his arms with this level of clothing on. He grunted and heaved his weight up along with mine, carrying me over to the packhorse he'd obviously ridden, not his large horse I'd ridden on the way here.  
  
He pushed me up onto it and held me there while he pulled a large blanket out of a saddlebag to wrap around my shoulders tightly before climbing on himself, wiping his eyes.  
  
We sat on the horse, I felt even more vulnerable than I had ever felt before, weak and tired, grief-stricken and guilty.   
  
"What happened?" Sao whispered, upset at what lay before us  
  
Nothing remained of the camp but ashes and metal. No trace of the people who'd once lived there. The beautiful tents were gone, the horses and carts gone, the people gone. Lucy gone.  
  
Nothing but ashes and metal.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
**** 


	11. All By Yourself, Young One

Thank you so much for the reviews! Yay, people are reading my story! I really think we'll be reaching the magic number of hundred reviews! I hope I can continue to reach your invariably high standards and I hope you will continue read my story as I keep writing!   
  
In answer to your question Frances, I was actually planning on Lucy having some romance but I think it will be later on, perhaps even in the third part of the trilogy (if I decide to have one!) or later on in this story. OK?  
  
Anyway, I'm so glad the last chapter didn't sound stupid because I didn't think I could write emotions that well so the best way to practice was to actually do it as I planned out the story. Enjoy!  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Zelda but I do own my own original characters Sao and his tribe so if you'll ever want to use them you must ask me. That done, heres the story!  
  
  
  
  
  
  
We sat in silence.  
  
Sao had decided to go back to Clock Town, not speaking, and stay there since everything that he had had all his life was gone or cut off.  
  
I had cried for most of the journey, silently sniffing into the blanket. Sao didn't notice, or pretended not to, after the initial display of grief, he'd seemed to cut everything off except where he was heading.  
  
We'd rode away from the camp when we'd began to realise we'd sat there so long that the water was freezing after it had been melted before. The cold was building again.  
  
I looked up at him, he was frowning and his eyes were fixed on the horizon.  
  
I sighed and repositioned myself; the saddle wasn't the most comfortable thing in the world, Lucy would agree with me. I smiled; thinking of when we'd ridden the three horses in Hyrule and Link had been dragged along by his horse for at least most of the way to the canyon.  
  
My smile wiped itself away as my heart hurt thinking about Lucy. Poor Lucy, what had happened to her? Had she been carried off? Or burnt alive in the camp?  
  
Any number of role plays filled my head and my imagination showed me the horrible ways to end a life, each of them being carried out by the dark figure who'd so ruthlessly cut me down.  
  
I felt my stomach and collar bone again, where were the injuries? Why wasn't I dead? It was too strange.  
  
But in life I could reside in the knowledge that I was now certain who the Shadow Man was.  
  
The weight of the sword, the size of him, and his altogether sickening presence that was so familiar. I knew the score know and I knew who was responsible for it all. I pulled my hands into fists against the cold and gritted my teeth.  
  
I was so going to kill Link if I ever saw him again; this was what he'd been keeping from me. Not telling me why we were here when I could now see it was quite obvious he had known what we were doing here.  
  
The town began to fill up the far off horizon as the horse continued it's steady crushing of the snow toward it.  
  
"When we get into the town we'll go and get your stuff"  
  
I jumped; Sao nodded toward the town and said, "We'll be there before sun down"  
  
He sounded steady and cool, I don't know why, he'd seemed pretty distraught at the campsite. He'd never even let me explain what had happened, he'd presumably put it all together and didn't need telling. So before I could answer he'd said 'Let's go' and set off for clock town.  
  
I was upset so I couldn't imagine what he was feeling like. I mean, all your friends and family wiped away and the other half you couldn't get to till spring.  
  
It was so sad.  
  
Why didn't Link turn up? It was maddening; he was supposed to be the hero of this story, not me.  
  
The town ahead grew larger and larger across the land and we drew up to the gates as the sun began to set, the sky was gloomy and the growing shadows gave the town a melancholy look, like it was reflecting my feelings.  
  
Pathetic fallacy. That is what my English teacher would call it.   
  
Dismounting, Sao herded me into the gates, pulling the horse along as well, and into the south courtyard of Clock town, across the way stood the clock tower. THE clock tower.   
  
The ticking was loud and filled the courtyard with echoes. People littered about the stalls in front of the clock, counting up daily profits and packing way their produce.  
  
I stared up at the face, the light like a lighthouse beginning to pour from it's top across the plains of Termina.  
  
"Come on" Sao said, and began to turn toward the steps that led up to where the inn was situated  
  
"Wait a second" I said, he stopped and turned round  
  
"Don't you want your stuff?" he asked tiredly  
  
"Yes, but..." I paused and looked at the ground "Well..."  
  
"Well, what?" Sao said with weary impatience "It's getting dark, it'll probably snow again so what is it?"  
  
"I think..."  
  
"Well...?"  
  
I was debating what he'd say if I told him that I had been dead. By now I was sure of it. No one could have survived what I'd been dealt. Would he believe me? No sane person would that's for sure.  
  
I decided not to tell him.   
  
I smiled a small smile "I was just thinking, that last time we were here, I was being kidnapped" I realised that this would grieve him a little as I said it, but the words still came out  
  
Sao smiled twitchily, for my sake, then turned around and started to walk on again.  
  
I felt my own chin tremble as a tear slipped out, but no more fell behind it. I followed him up the steps, feeling slightly alone; if he wouldn't share his grief with me then he'd keep it bottled up. And that would help no one. Least of all him.   
  
Slipping every so often on the way, we made it to the inn door and embraced the warmth of the inside room.  
  
"May we help you?"  
  
Anju stood at the desk with a large smile on her face, "Sao! And...er...friend!"  
  
I grinned, my first real smile of happiness since last night. She seemed bright and began fussing about Sao as if he was her own son, taking his bags, sending someone out for the horse and all.  
  
She sent a few strange looks at me, in my blanket covered state, but seemed to recognise me.  
  
"Anju" I asked once she'd begun to pick up Sao's bags from the saddle "Is Link here?"  
  
She looked up at me; the smile faded and my heart sank "The one you were with?"  
  
I nodded.  
  
"Well" Anju looked up and down the room, as if she was expecting something to jump out and eat her "Come on, I'll show you to the room"  
  
I understood this as the usual code for secret sharing from films so I willingly went along with her.  
  
"We're putting you in your old room" Anju said "Since you still are booked into it and your things are there. In a mess I might add"  
  
I shot a look at Sao, who shrugged.  
  
Down, down, down along all the passages I'd run along a few days ago that seemed like years ago. And there was our door. A little beaten and bruised, but our door none the less.  
  
Anju took out what I guess was her master key and unlocked the door. Picking up Sao's saddlebags and putting them inside the door she walked right into the room.  
  
It was a mess.  
  
The beds were over turned and all of our items were strewn across the floor in a heap, everything was messed up or broken.  
  
"Did anyone come in here?" I asked Anju, walking into the room and surveying the wreck  
  
"No one but you and Mr Link" Anju replied sitting on a bed frame, the mattress was on the floor "I'll have to ask you to pay, sorry"  
  
"S'ok. And was he drunk?" I picked up pieces of glass and looked at the window, the frame had been beaten in  
  
"Drunk?" Anju repeated, "Well he was..."  
  
"I knew it" I threw up my hands "Goes to question people and comes back drunk exactly when I could do with rescuing! I knew he would"   
  
Sao began to pick things up, mostly Link's weapons, carefully avoiding underwear.   
  
"He was..." Anju began quietly, looking around again "He was a feared"  
  
"What?" I shut the door quickly  
  
Anju had gone pale, as she had stated this fact; I sat next to her and repeated   
  
"What?" I repeated  
  
"Well" she whispered, leaning forward to say it quietly, "After all the racket during the night, he returned in the morning, not knowing what had happened. So we explained that you had disappeared in the disturbance. He went as white as a sheet and began to shout"  
  
"He Shouted? At you?" Sao asked inspecting an arrowhead  
  
"No, at everything, not just me, even at the stairs for being in his way" She said slowly "He burst up the stairs like a tornado and headed straight for your room"  
  
"Goddess knows what he saw when he locked the door" Anju continued, "We heard him ripping this place apart and then the next instant he tore back down the stairs with such a murderous look on his face! Like he was about to kill someone! He screamed at me to keep the room and sprinted out of the inn. We haven't seen him since"  
  
I sat there listening, obviously he had been angry. And from the sound of it Link had found out what he'd been wanting and come back to tell me. Maybe the thought I'd been taken by Shadow Man or something.  
  
Taken...  
  
A light burst in my head.  
  
Taken...  
  
I hadn't been killed. Or taken by Shadow Man...  
  
"Thanks Anju" I heard Sao say as he showed her out of the room "We'll clear up now" he turned back into the room as he said "Well. Looks like he was mad"  
  
"Sao" I began slowly "What if...the camp isn't gone"  
  
He froze "What?"  
  
"Well, it is gone but. Taken" I said, "What if everyone was taken, I never saw anybody die" except me, I reminded myself silently "Only the tents were gone. If Link thought there was a chance I was alive when I was gone"  
  
Sao shook his head "It would be nice to have some hope. But I doubt it"   
  
"Yet it might be true!" I persisted, knowing that if I was right then I could stop feeling guilty and do something  
  
"It isn't" Sao said a little more loudly "It isn't, you are the only survivor"  
  
"Well let me go then if you won't come with me!"  
  
"No, I'm not letting you out my sight!"  
  
"Why not?"  
  
"Because you are valuable to the defeat of the Shadow Man!"  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Because you are, you will not be going anywhere where you might be in danger!"  
  
"But what if they're alive!"  
  
"THEY'RE NOT!" he hit the bed, and said more quietly "They're not"  
  
I paused, the last time I had argued like this here, in this timeline, in the other world, I had earned a slap. Too bad.  
  
"Are you afraid to look for them?" I said quietly   
  
Despite myself I knew it was my hope that Lucy was alive and I could take her home with me once more, he wasn't going to stop me but if I could have a companion that would be an asset, and I'd rather leave on bad terms than sneak off without him if he wouldn't let me go.  
  
He wasn't going to let me go. Time to put the plan into action. I eyed my things on the floor.  
  
So I would make him angry, if I made him angry then perhaps he would leave me and I could go and search for Link and Lucy myself. Or maybe if he wouldn't want me to go I could get him angry that he'd let me leave out of pride. At the moment this was my only idea. He was almost angry already.  
  
That caught his attention. His grief that he'd bottled up after finding me had slowly been turning to anger, anger at himself, at Shadow Man, at what happened, and perhaps that it was I who survived and not one of his friends.  
  
"What?" he muttered  
  
I swept coolly off the bed and began to pull my stuff together to fit into the backpack I'd brought that was flung against a wall.  
  
"You heard me" I replied  
  
Sao's face was a grim stone "Do you think you know me?"  
  
I couldn't look at him, I hated people angry with me or shouting at me but this was my only way to get him out of my way.  
  
"I've barely known you" I replied, pushing my things to the bottom of the bag and keeping my eyes on the objects in front of me "I am usually a good judge of character though, considering you weren't at the camp I can only see that the evidence suggests cowardice because you ran away. And now you won't even go search for them I guess I was correct"  
  
I could almost feel the room heat up as his fist in the corner of my vision clenched and unclenched.   
  
"I am not a coward. Just look at me," he said suddenly, angrily   
  
"I'd rather not," I said carefully, to keep my voice steady, "Someone who deserts his people is not worth looking at"  
  
That blew it.  
  
Once again I had earned a blow as my reward for holding an argument.  
  
Sao snapped his fist back and struck me with unrestrained force across my cheek, slamming me back into the wall.  
  
Dazed enough not to cry, and in enough pain to be mad enough to stand up when I was almost unconscious.  
  
Drawing a breath I steadied my legs as I stooped to pick up my backpack and riding cloak I had been fortunate enough to finish packing and my sword that was lying nearby.  
  
I also picked up some of Link's interesting little pieces to shove into my pack, including a red potion and a dagger.  
  
I closed my eyes against dizziness for a moment and then looked straight at him. He seemed as shocked as Link had been when he'd hit me; I was making a habit of this. He also seemed to have no remorse for the blow, a difference between Link and himself.  
  
"Good day to you sir" I said coldly forgetting momentarily it was evening in favour of dramatics, "I shall see you in hell"  
  
Striding past him, a little unsteadily I grant you, I slammed the door and walked down the hall with my head as high as it would go. I almost gave myself a high five for such a great parting line.   
  
Around the corner of the hall I grabbed the wall for support as my light-headedness returned and felt my cheekbone.  
  
I was surprised it was not broken; maybe my hair had taken some of the blow or something, but it hurt so much. I could already feel the bruise rising.  
  
What hurt even more was that I had been horrible. I felt even worse now than I had before. At least I had some hope to cling to in that Lucy might still be alive.  
  
But what filled me with a cold sort of chill was that I was all alone. I had shoved away my only companion in this huge place, and I had no idea where to start looking.  
  
Companion, not friend I noted. In all our time at camp he'd barely come to see us and since he had kidnapped me I wasn't that drawn to him in the first place.  
  
I barely knew him at all. He wasn't a friend so I shouldn't feel so bad at leaving him and being so mean. Even so...  
  
I would have liked his old humour to have come back to travel with...  
  
I pulled myself up against the wall a shook off my faint headedness. I was almost 18, an adult and old enough to have had children in the 15th century. So why shouldn't I travel alone? I leant on the sword sheath momentarily and was glad that I wasn't weapon less as well as friendless at the moment.  
  
I looked back at the door for a second, and then strode off and down the stairs.  
  
I didn't look back. I wasn't going to let regrets fill my head anymore. I had a chance to undo one by saving Lucy, I'd never forgive myself if I had to tell her parents she wasn't coming home when she'd never even left there in our world.  
  
If no one could or would help, then this time I was doing it alone, even if it killed me.  
  
I didn't stop to think then that it just might do that.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
How was that chapter? Was it ok? Fine? Good or bad, review and tell me! I love reading your comments and advice people! Do you like the longer chapters? 


	12. Alone, then not alone and then off again...

Hi, glad you liked the last chapter as well! Cliff-hanger or what! Yes, I do love leaving the reader in suspense! You just come back for more! Isn't that right? Meh heh heh! It proves the point because you are reading this right now!  
  
Hey I'm also keen to hear your ideas on the stories so far and where you're think they're going, or what you'd like to happen. I think it's great when readers interact with the author and I'd really love to hear your opinions and ideas. I sort of know where I'm going but how I'm going to get there depends on you and me. So email me or review and tell me what's going on in your head!  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Zelda  
  
  
  
Anju had tried to stop me from leaving, saying supplies weren't ready and such, I think she thought I was running out on the bill, but I assured her Sao would be using the room and had agreed to pay the fees at the end of his stay.   
  
Ha! Shout at me will you Sao? Getting you back, hope you have money!  
  
She also expressed concern on my injury and haggled me about the Women's Protection from the temple of the Goddesses, but I persuaded her all was well and I'd slipped, she agreed, although a little suspicious that I'd been beaten by my man.  
  
Another drop of persuasion ensured me with a few days of food and water to store away in my bag. After been shown out the back way by my request and to the stables. I'd saddled a rented horse and was ready to set off in ten minutes.  
  
Unfortunately the horse I'd been granted was a beast of a mare with a rather large stubborn streak called Bite. I saw she'd earned her name when, as I took the reins, her large teeth shot out and caught me on the elbow.  
  
At the laughter of the stable hands I hit her on the nose and whispered haughtily that if she did not like me then she was going to have to put up with me for a while because she was the only mount I had and I was not about to let a badly behaved horse stop me from what I was going to do.  
  
After a flaring of nostrils to indicate that she had heard me, she just wasn't going to pay much attention, we saddled up. She had a huge back and my legs could barely fit across her and she didn't seem very impressed and my horsemanship.   
  
"Bite is going to give off the wrong impression of a 'gentle' and 'noble' steed like you," I said sweetly as I settled myself on her giant spine "So I think I shall give you a new name"  
  
Bite snorted.  
  
"I think I shall call you..." I thought for a moment "Bertha"  
  
I heard something that sounded like a disgruntled protest from beneath me and I grinned, that was the name all right.  
  
"Yes" I squeezed her sides in "Bertha it is! Onwards Bertha"  
  
The huge bulk suddenly jerked beneath me and Bertha lumped me along on top of her as the laughter of the stable hands drifted out from the gates behind.  
  
I wrapped the cloak around me against the cold air and rode out through the cobbled back alleys and out into the chilly courtyards, Bertha's heavy iron shoes echo being masked by the powder snow.  
  
I had no idea where I was going to start looking. I could either look for Link first or the tribe and Lucy first. Once I decided that I was going to have to decide where to start my search from and then which direction to in.  
  
Maybe if I camped in one spot they'd come to me.  
  
What would I do once I found them? What if I didn't find them? What if I was found first?   
  
I shook my head, no need to worry, I'd go back to where the camp site had been, it wouldn't be covered yet but it had taken a few hours to get here earlier so I'd have to ride hard to find it before all the light was gone.  
  
And since I'm not an experienced horse rider, I wasn't going to make it in my right mind.  
  
So I tied myself to the saddle.  
  
Pretty good idea I thought.  
  
So I squeezed Bertha as hard as I could and threw my hands around the saddle horn and the reins as tightly as I could as she threw herself forward, purposely I think trying to unseat me.  
  
That is how we rode until I could hold on no more and pulled bertha to a stop by the best way I could think of: pulling the reins and screaming at the top of my range.  
  
We'd ridden solidly at Bertha's top speed for half an hour. Unfortunately, she was puffed.  
  
So we went for a while slowly, then sped up, then slowed down, then sped up. I'm sure she hated me for it but all the time we were riding the sun was setting and covering the ground even more than the snow.  
  
We rode in what I considered a straight line, I kept the sun on our right at all times and looked back to check we were in a straight line and headed for the same rocks all the time.  
  
I was heading generally in the direction of the swamp. I had no idea what there was over here, but if we'd come into town from the south then presumably the camp was to the south.  
  
This was probably wrong, but then, what else could I do?  
  
We rode and rode and soon, as the sun had gone down, the camps burned cinders and metal had appeared beneath the squatting of rocks that I'd grown used to over my days of waiting. The timing was perfect, the sun had set and just as it had we had reached the spot.   
  
I thanked the goddesses, considering this was their place, and dismounted. Looking behind me and back into the dusk of the Termina field.  
  
A small cloud of dust was rising from beyond a small heath ahead. A rider, I presumed. I smacked my head and told myself off, snow didn't give off dust! Stupid girl, that meant that the rider in the distance...was riding so fast he was throwing up snow!  
  
That was scary...  
  
I frowned and lead Bertha carefully across the bare patch of ground to the shadows underneath the rocks; she sniffed the burnt ground and put her nose up in the air. Not impressed at where I'd brought her.  
  
I was worried about the rider behind us. I back Bertha into the space between the rocks, as far as her bulk would allow us and how far she'd allow me to be squeezed in beside her.  
  
I figured that if we pressed into the shadows then the rider wouldn't see us because of the darkness and the colours we were wearing (horse hair and clothes) and pass by without seeing us.  
  
We stood there for what seemed like forever.  
  
The rider drew closer.  
  
And closer.  
  
I waited with baited breath and I'm sure Bertha would have done as well if she hadn't been a horse.  
  
The sun was gone. The moon was rising. The small light available shone off the snowy ground and allowed us to see further than we would have been able to normally.  
  
I was getting a little scared, if I rider could throw up snow like that then he'd be here in no time.  
  
This is when I wish I knew how to fight properly.  
  
I drew the sword out of its scabbard as quietly as I could and rolled it about in my numb fingers to warm my palms up in case of a fight. I patted Bertha's neck and whispered for her to calm and be cool.  
  
She snorted; of course she was calm and cool, calmer and cooler than me.  
  
I gripped the sword tighter, the rider was just behind the nearest roll of a hill now. Closer, closer, closer...  
  
And a shadow dropped from the rock above.  
  
Screaming out loud and trying to avoid Bertha's massive hooves that were crashing down from the sky above me, I darted out and ran out into the moonlight.  
  
Exactly the opposite of what I'd intended to do.  
  
I didn't care about the rider anymore; I knew exactly what had dropped down.  
  
I spun around to face my attacker...  
  
A Stalfos?  
  
I leapt out of the way of his huge sheet of metal and scrambled away again.  
  
A Stalfos was attacking me! Ha! I'd been so worried and it was a just a Stalfos. Just a Stalfos? Stalfos is bad! Good thing I had a sword. Just needed enough hits and it would disappear.  
  
I dodged his sword again, luckily although the pile of bones was strong, every time he swung his sword, the momentum carried him around a bit more and I had time to dodge back behind him and swing at his back.  
  
But the swings carried me off balance because I couldn't get enough force behind several quick ones.  
  
This is when I wished that I'd had body building sessions or something. Upper arm strength would really help here.  
  
My riding cloak also got in the way; I had to keep flinging it behind me which was a pain considering I was going to be dead if I got hit.  
  
The Stalfos smelled awful, it was putrid and almost made me feel like throwing up, over the bones were various pieces of rotting flesh and it wore a loincloth sort of thing made of animal skins, which were also rotting. The blade it carried was rusty and I had the suspicion it also was covered in dried blood, and the shield it had was no better.  
  
My arms muscles screamed in pain as the blades met and the Stalfos pressed in, it's awful stench half blinding me.  
  
Well, I was dead. Again, no way I could match the speed of a dead person who probably never tired.  
  
The Stalfos grinned its toothy grin and pressed down on its blade, hurting my arms and my hands, and pressed harder.  
  
"You're a hard girl to find" the Stalfos said  
  
I almost fell backwards in surprise.  
  
"But this is a big place, and you're all alone so you better come with me" it continued  
  
I stared at the Stalfos, it didn't have a voice box, how was it talking?  
  
It then occurred to me that the Stalfos looked as surprised as I did and then a sword ripped through the Stalfos bones and the Stalfos crumbled and more or less 'died' with the surprised expression fixed on it's bones. As surprised as a scull can look when it's got no muscles anyway.  
  
I stumbled back away from this new intruder and threw my sword into an arc to attack them; it was swiftly blocked and parried. I didn't bother to look at them, I was just going to attack them and protect myself, it was probably the Shadow Man  
  
I drew it back into another crescent arc horizontally, with my muscles screaming as both arms felt the grind of a motion they weren't used to, and my body almost followed the sword with the force I was putting behind it.  
  
To no avail, it was blocked again and this time the sword twisted my own out of my grip and drew to a screeching halt inches away from my neck.  
  
"Hey, is that anyway to treat someone who just saved you?"  
  
I took my eyes off the sword and looked into Sao's flushed face.  
  
He registered my surprise and turned away on his heel to inspect the bones of the Stalfos.  
  
"Thought about what you said," he said briskly "You're right, there could be a chance to track them and, well, I should have agreed with you. There's nothing I would rather have than my tribe back together, including the men that I...left"  
  
"Right" I walked to draw Bertha back to me  
  
"But, what you said~ it was, well"  
  
"I know" I acknowledged "I don't expect you to forgive me for what I said, I was nasty and horrible and it was perfectly right to punch me"  
  
It was also part of my plan, I hid a grin. Well, sort of, I hadn't expected him to come after me when I'd made him so mad. Or had that been my plan? Oh well, he was here now.  
  
"Oh yeah" Sao grimaced and scratched his head, "I didn't mean to give you such a...um...beautiful purple eye"  
  
I'd forgotten about the bruising. I reached up and winced as the pain sprang up a little, a raised bruise was forming along the bone.  
  
I grinned, then regretted it as a sharp stab shot around my eye, "Never mind, I deserved it"  
  
"Ok" he nodded then looked around us in the moonlight "So...find anything?"  
  
"No, I was only here a few minutes before the Stalfos and you turned up, and now it's too dark to see any tracks or anything"  
  
"Well the sky is clearer than it has been for days, I don't think it's going to snow just yet"  
  
I blew on my hands "I wish it was warmer" I pulled the riding cloak around my shoulders even tighter and sheathed my sword again "So what should we do?"  
  
"I thought you knew what you were doing?"  
  
"Not past getting here," I said turning my nose up, "I guess I was too full of CONCUSSION to think ahead"  
  
He grinned and shrugged "Well now you have a big strong man to help you out" I rolled my eyes "And luckily I was one of the best hunters in my tribe after my father"  
  
"Who's your father?" I asked, thinking of my dad  
  
He looked surprised, "You don't know?" he asked back, "My father's Shigeru"  
  
"Oh" I said and then felt sorry for him, I guess he'd changed his mind to come with me because there might be a chance his dads alive.  
  
And now that I thought about it, they had the same eyes and the same nose. Strange how family members can only look alike when you know they're family.  
  
They hadn't seemed that close, maybe that's why I hadn't picked it up.  
  
Sao mounted his horse and stared out into the darkness ahead.  
  
"The skulls will be coming out soon" he said grimly, and as if to make his point a small blue light appeared out of the dark in the distance, very faint and small and far away and it began to dance "We better do something or we could get cursed"  
  
I nodded and went to mount Bertha, who, despite the Stalfos attack, was just as indifferent as when I'd met her. I put my sword on the side of the saddle and got comfortable for a ride. Apologising to Bertha for another part of a journey without a break.  
  
"Can you see any footprints in the leftover snow?" I asked, figuring this 'master hunter' would be able to see better than me  
  
"Well, there are tracks over there, but we just came from there, and over there, there are a LOT of tracks from the way which we didn't come from"  
  
"Let's go that way then," I said and trotted Bertha forwards  
  
"It's the other direction"  
  
"I knew that"  
  
  
  
  
  
  
So what do you think guys? I think this is a shorter chapter, right? Well please do feel free to come forward with your ideas on what you thinks going to happen or what you want to happen! You never know, your wishes might be granted! Sp please, read, review and be happy! 


	13. Dreams and Riding Trips

Hmm, I'm thinking maybe I made a mistake with the sequel? You'd all agree it's not as good as the original, I'll keep writing though; I haven't given up hope yet!! Thanks for all the lovely reviews we're well on the way to 100, thanks for making this all possible! I really love writing and I hope you'll continue to stick with me! Please read and review and give opinions! In my opinion you guys are way too passive ^_~ Anyway, this chapter is going to get REALLY weird, but no giveaways!   
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Zelda!!!  
  
  
  
  
* * *  
  
Dreaming again, the way of seeing things when you were dreaming made you realise it was a dream, it was like watching yourself in a movie. Or in this case the past...  
  
Running, running, running, she was always running everywhere that girl, running and growing, running and growing. The fun never seemed to stop, 'always having fun with no one', her parents would say, 'but she's unusually bright for her age, we're always joking someone tells her the answers to her maths homework!'  
  
She didn't think they were telling her the answers to quizzes and answers in maths, they just always seemed to come to her when she was asked a question.  
  
But when the voices stopped, and he stopped coming, the brightness stopped, she didn't understand the maths anymore. Extra tuition and everything could not help her memorise the tables and numbers needed, but she struggled on.   
  
'It's a side effect of the medication' doctor's told her parents 'It'll clear up in a few months'  
  
And it did, her parents found it relieving, it all sorted itself out. She got better and the medication stopped coming with it, and they had a perfect little girl.  
  
...  
  
I watched the past and nightmares mingling into an uncertain haze of information, lulling me in and out of frightening places. Nightmares riddling me as the horse in the real world moved beneath me in an unreal set of jerking and motion.  
  
Almost in a state of dreamlessness the clogging of images seemed to form one net and catch me up into it, flinging me into another dream...  
  
...  
  
Shadow Man stood before me in the grassy plains of Termina field, the sky a pool of water, Hyrule flickering and rippled, a reflection of beneath. A plain for conversation in my mind. Quiet, peaceful no distractions...  
  
I felt the cool wind in my hair and I closed my eyes to breath in the sent of wild dandelions, peacefully...I looked around again, deserted plain...nothing but grass and us, birds overhead, a perfect plain for a meeting it struck me quietly...  
  
"Are you the seer?" Shadow Man asked softly, he sounded neither scary nor evil in this beautiful and mystic version of reality   
  
Almost sedately he lumbered over to me with his hands in his pockets, his face strangely shadowed in the bright daylight, it wasn't clear who he was...  
  
"If I am?" I asked quietly, falling back into the soft grass and watching birds fly in and out of the sky  
  
The image of the temple of time overhead looked far away and it moved in lazy patterns above the grass beneath.  
  
"You must be a gateway for my masters" he replied, almost friendlily, as if he was commenting on this lovely weather  
  
"And you?"  
  
"What?" he asked, grinning, showing white teeth.  
  
"You're..." my mind searched through its blocks of memory and fumbled for the name I'd suspected  
  
"Water Temple..." he suggested helpfully, putting his hands in his pockets  
  
"Dark Link" I finished, not accusingly, I felt like I wasn't in danger here, it was my mind and I commanded what could or couldn't hurt me here, this was a dream.  
  
"If I am?" he asked easily  
  
"You're my enemy"  
  
He laughed out loud, a strange sound from someone I'd always thought evil, "Of course! I'm going to kill you"  
  
I smiled back at him radiantly, the grass wavering past his knees, the shadow over his face cleared to show a perfect smiling Link back at me, a perfect him, but a perfect opposite. Almost. It was Link of last time, of a bright-eyed 18-year-old hero of time, fresh from Ocarina of Time and green as grass, the time Lucy and I had almost loved him...  
  
"Are you in my head for a reason?" I asked searching the dappled sky once more for nothing  
  
He sat down beside me in the grass and took up my wrist, I let is go limp and watched it dangle in someone else's grasp, he didn't do anything at all...  
  
"What a life force, a perfect gateway for my masters" he said  
  
"A compliment?" I joked and pulled my wrist back  
  
"Yes" he leaned forward and whispered in my ear "I've been searching for you for some time now seer. Your friends are in no danger as long as you come to me"  
  
It was the first time I'd ever felt surprise in my own dreams, it seemed out of place, was this not a dream...?  
  
"What are you talking about?" I stood up and over him "Why are you here?"  
  
He shrugged again "You let me in" he said stretching "A seer is a gateway in or out, the door was just open when I got here"  
  
"What are you saying?" I started to get angry, this dream wasn't going the way I wanted it to.  
  
He laughed again; he sounded so much like Link. Innocent, not like the evil man at the inn that night Link had disappeared. He got up and grabbed my wrists firmly.  
  
"You're a gateway, you don't know?" he said, "You may command it and control it while you're awake, but when you're asleep, well, it's a free for all. Even better when you're dead"  
  
I opened my mouth to say something but he carried on, my head felt light and giddy and it felt like someone was digging around in there for something...  
  
"I know what you saw when you were young, before you knew and were letting them in all the time, of course I do, the Hero of Time knew, thus so did I. Then fate brought you here then you became one of the main causes for Reika's defeat"  
  
I stared, how could he know all that?  
  
"I knew they'd send for the king once I turned up here" he spat bitterly, his face twisting with disgust "Good old King of Hyrule, he can fix anything! Yeah right, had to call little girls and a Zora to him to defeat Reika! And I'm supposed to be his problem!" Dark link spat on the ground bitterly "Some rival, faced me once and left me"  
  
I muttered somehow, the words spilling out, my vision was clouding, the dream giddiness surprisingly effective "Link...didn't know it was you here"  
  
"Of course he knew, he could feel that alright, I'm part of him, all the time" Dark Link grinned and the grip on my wrists was cutting off the blood circulation "We're each other..."  
  
My knees gave way and suddenly his arms were around me and holding me up. Against his chest I couldn't feel his breathing, his chest wasn't even moving...no lungs, no heartbeat, empty cavity...  
  
"Poor thing, you're going to die for my master's freedom" he tilted my head up to face him and smiled serenely "Neither Link nor Sao can protect you when I come to town, my gateway..."  
  
I felt my heart beating faster, he looked so much like the Link that I had loved back then. When he had been in my reach...Dark Link or Link, what did it matter? He looked like the one I had wanted...  
  
A flash of lightning fell through the sky, the rippled Hyrule clouding over, I stood up and looked around, the plain darkening.  
  
"Time to go" Dark Link said, "If you don't come soon, I'll start the killing" he winked and vanished with a bow  
  
I felt a rip of pain through my head as conscientiousness screamed through my dream land...  
  
* * *  
  
I cried out as I hit the ground painfully, my vision blacked out for a second and I thought I'd gone blind, yelling again I sat up and scrambled on to my feet, miraculous vision flooded my eyes.  
  
Bertha looked down at me with disgust in her big brown eyes.  
  
It was still night time and the skulls in their blue bubbles were still hopping around but there was no sign of Sao, I kicked myself, how could I have been so stupid to have fallen off my horse?  
  
I rubbed a bruise forming on my knees.  
  
"Sao?" I called, maybe he hadn't seen me fall  
  
The dream, I rubbed my head. That wasn't a dream, I'd let him in, and he had told me that himself. So sleeping meant that I was open as a gateway to any intruder, great.  
  
I was going to be killed, as always.  
  
My life was so much fun.  
  
"Goddess, don't you even know the basic horse law?" Sao rode up on his horse and pulled to a stop, "You should never fall asleep on a galloping horse  
  
For a moment in the shadowed night, Sao looked like Dark Link, I shuddered. The I recognised his amused grin and dark curled hair, I smiled a bit and then shook it off.  
  
"We have to hurry," I said, running my fingers over the tracks in the ground that we were following "He's going to start killing them"  
  
"What?"  
  
"Let's go" I pulled myself up on the horse and started off again in a light canter  
  
"What are you talking about?" Sao yelled as loud as he dared back up to me  
  
That wasn't a dream, I answered silently, and he was in my head. I remembered the closeness when he'd caught me; so much like Link the same build and smell. No, he wasn't Link. Link was 30 and married. I felt guilty that I'd almost been swayed to a crush-like thing by a Link-look-a-like, how stupid was that. And he was trying to kill me! Great! What a fickle creature I must be!   
  
Lucy was in trouble, and I knew that, knew it anyway. But what was I going to do? If we marched right in there, Sao was cat food and I was dead for a gateway. I gritted my teeth, I hadn't seen Gannondorf in real life, and I didn't want to. Not after playing that game and seeing THAT thing, no way I was going to see that in real life.  
  
Reika was ok, I'd seen her, seen her cheat and kill Link but then, you know, that wasn't so bad, he'd been brought back.  
  
No they weren't getting out because of my powers or whatever, I still couldn't believe I had powers. Although it did explain a lot of things about having such a strange child hood, plus the fact I was in an alternate universe or something seem to prove I wasn't normal.  
  
Sao caught up and spent about five minutes colourfully expressing his displeasure at my current mood.  
  
"So what is this all about?" he asked after settling down, "The only reason we're here following these tracks is because you said they weren't dead, now they are?"  
  
"Not yet" I replied "But they will be if we don't hurry"  
  
"How do you know?"  
  
"It's a feeling, and plus these kinds of things always get worse the longer you leave them in films"  
  
"What's a film"?  
  
"Never mind"  
  
"Let me guess, some weird thing I wouldn't understand?"  
  
"Well done"  
  
"Hmph" Sao snorted, "I can't stand it when people do that"  
  
"Do what?"  
  
"Say I wouldn't understand" he said pouting  
  
"You wouldn't"  
  
"Would too"  
  
"Would not"  
  
"Would too!"  
  
"Ugh, you sound just like Lucy"  
  
"Who"  
  
"Er...the girl I was with? My height, threatened you with a sword? You got her first?"  
  
Sao thought for a moment then snapped his fingers, "Ah! The cute one, yes?"  
  
Wrong thing to say Sao, my friend, I stared at him crossly then put up my nose, making Bertha go a little faster to outrun him. He was just as 'tactful' as Link had been back a few years ago.  
  
Men really don't think before they speak, I learnt that at school from the boys who seemed to find it funny to make fun of everyone they saw. Myself being one of their more frequent targets. Just because I did the work I was set and they didn't.  
  
Well, I sure as hell wasn't going to put up with comments like that on this side of the coin.  
  
I'd have to tell Lucy he'd said that though, she'd be very pleased. Not that she had any lack of men running after her. I wondered briefly whether Link had thought she was cute.   
  
"Hey" Sao said pointedly, "I didn't mean 'cute' cute, I meant...err...cute as in kid sister cute"  
  
"Save your breath," I replied coolly, "If you want to ask Lucy out then go ahead" I have to admit that I had to grit my teeth on that one, she always got the guys "I don't mind, really"  
  
Sao shook his head, "I didn't mean that at all!"  
  
"Well, tell me what you mean after we rescue them all, we need to hurry or it'll be too late to help them you know!" I stared in the dim light down at the trail beneath  
  
"Hey~" Sao pulled his horse up to right in front of mine so Bertha stopped automatically "You've been acting weird since you fell off that horse, suddenly you seem to know what's going on with the prisoners, and you look all business like and kind of...pale and stony"  
  
"Thanks!"  
  
"Hey, I'm concerned!"  
  
I looked at him straight as much as I could in the dark, he seemed concerned enough, but I wasn't going to tell him that I was a liability to the whole world and the hostages or whatever, because he knew I was a seer from Shigeru and probably that I brought a lot of trouble along with me anyway.   
  
No need to let dreams get a hold over us, and it was one dream, and I could have dreamt the whole thing, the grassy plain...Dark Link...  
  
"Excuse me?"  
  
I came out of my thoughts and stared at Sao "What?"  
  
"You were going to tell me why you're suddenly completely business like and quite frankly: scary"  
  
"Oh" I wasn't going to tell him about the dream yet, it was probably just a dream that I'd conjured out of my fears, "I'm afraid for my friend, falling off my horse made me realise that if I don't keep my head and stop acting stupid then I'm going to get Lucy killed because if I fall off my horse then what good am I to rescue people?"  
  
It was true, mostly, and I didn't mind telling a white lie or two to Sao about the dream and Dark Link. Keeping him in the dark was a good way to keep him safe, I had enough trouble with people getting hurt over me, and enough trouble keeping myself from getting hurt.  
  
If no one knew about the dream, then if it did turn out to be just a dream, then I could forget about it. Anyway, it was giving me a sense of purpose. I had to get to wherever the tracks led and stop Dark Link from releasing the evil.  
  
I smelled the night air and made a silent prayer to Din and the other Goddesses, if they still listened, that the others were alright and safe and that Link was alright too.  
  
I figured that down here, my god wouldn't be listening.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Thanks for reading! Please review!!!! I hope you enjoyed it!!! 


	14. Bombchu? Who cares!

I'm glad you all liked the last chapter; I have a weird feeling that this story will be shorter than the first one 0_0   
  
A note to all, it wasn't stated blatantly that the main character liked Link in the first story but it was hinted that both Lucy and the main character liked him and at the end I tried to create a sort of reluctance for them to go home. And the first story was when...Lucy and her were 14 and Link was...how old was he in the second half of Ocarina? 16? 17? Yeah, that sort of age, so it was feasible that could have worked something out, I mean, heck, people who are 14 sleep with men in their 20's! I married Link and Kestrel off because...I don't know why; they both deserve it because they're getting old.   
  
Anyway, so that's why there is this sort of pull toward Dark Link because he hasn't grown any older even though Link has, I think that Dark Link is the embodiment of all the opposites of Link's and since Link's soul kinda thing is still young, he feels young I mean, Dark Link is young or that Link is old so Dark Link is young. I guess it depends on Link. I'm not sure, if anyone has theories on Dark Link please put them in your review! I'm getting confused!  
  
Anyway, thanks for all your reviews I really love reading them! I don't think I ever had this many for 12 chapters in the first story. I thought I was doing well to get 60 reviews at 23 chapters! I'm glad you like the story!  
  
Sorry that it's taking so long to get these chapters out, I'm also trying to chunk out chapters of my new Escaflowne fic too! Sorry!  
  
* * *  
  
Dawn broke in the east, Snow head twinkling in the pink light to the north and the sea to the west or whatever, I couldn't remember which direction we were going in but since the sun was in ne direction I figured a strong south west, if these could be applied to Termina. We didn't even have the same constellations.  
  
We had stopped for an hour in the dark next to a stream to water the horses and a rest; I couldn't sleep so I kept watch while Sao had a break before riding off again.  
  
The tracks below became easier to see in the growing light and gradually the skulls around is faded away as the beams of sunlight filled the field with long shadows and the birds began their morning song.  
  
The tracks, now that I could see clearly, we wide and a far across, horses tracks from what I could see where around the main set of foot prints so I assumed they'd been the guards, I wondered whether Dark Link had been one of them.  
  
So they'd been marched along to where Dark Link was holding, was Lucy being marched too was she a captive on a horse because she'd been with me, I rubbed my shoulder where the blade had bitten too deep for me to live. My stomach aching with old wounds. How had I been saved? I wondered for the millionth time.  
  
Occasionally we passed an item of clothing or some other personal belonging that had been saved from the plains. They were obviously alive and well because every so often, Sao would point out with his keen eyes where the tracks dashed off and scuffles of feet shifting had taken place, which apparently indicated captives running off to have a quick punch up before being marched again.  
  
I smelled the air, the burnt out smell of the campsite replaced by the drifting wood smoke of a nearby forest. The nearby birds twittering and carrying on as normal as if they had not seen captives being marched towards a most likely death.  
  
We had been heading toward the swamp but soon after the sun had come up the tracks had taken a sharp turn down a small canyon type road and along the edge of Termina field and back along to the desert mountains where the fourth temple was, and loads of real bomb-chu but that was beside the point.  
  
"Where are they going?" Sao mused to himself more than to me  
  
I looked into the distance where the tracks faded; they curled round into the gorge that led up to the ghost village and the graveyard. I shuddered; I never liked that place even in the game, all the Skull kids and that. Without the mask that meant they wouldn't attack us...well we were for it because they would keep on coming.  
  
I hated the bomb-chu in the game, horrible little things. I didn't want to face them in real life where I actually WOULD be hurt.  
  
I glances round at the countryside, I kept thinking that maybe Link was watching us, trying to figure out if I was in Sao's capture or whatever, maybe he was going to come over the hill any minute to help us save the others. The way he'd charged off, maybe he'd felt Dark Link that night and gone to fight him, the screeching and ugliness that Dark Link had sent through the air in ripples back then felt so far away.  
  
And he hadn't seemed evil in the dream...except he'd been scary when he'd gotten by wrists...maybe he was just misunderstood...yeah right.  
  
Think happy thoughts, think happy thoughts.  
  
Impossible.  
  
Too much was going on for or me to think about happy things, I was going to be killed if I went and Lucy would be killed if I didn't and Link had just gone off! Then Dark Link was to be considered...I wondered if Sao really liked Lucy.   
  
She got all the guys.  
  
Ah well, maybe I'll be dead, then we'll see who gets the guys...um...obviously not me. Because I'd be dead. Ugh. Things never work out for me.  
  
I was getting hungry to top it all off, I'd had nothing to eat since leaving the inn and holding the sword and bags all the time made my arms hurt. I shifted them uncomfortable and said 'Hungry..." rather loudly  
  
Sao looked back at me and shrugged, "Can't do anything about that, neither of us thought to get food did we? Stupid"  
  
Wait, I had gotten food! Anju, excellent woman! I was going to get Kafei back for this!  
  
"I got food!" I said triumphantly, slowing Bertha down so I could fumble with my bag "At least only one of us is stupid"  
  
Sao pulled back and said, "What did you get?"  
  
I surveyed the food bag, "Apples, bread, canteens of water, cheese, biscuits"  
  
"A feast for hungry people" he eyed the cheese greedily  
  
I slapped his hand away as he went for a slice of cheese "Rations, porky! We don't know how long we'll be on the road for or whether we'll have to feed starving prisoners at our destination!"  
  
His face fell.  
  
I sighed and handed him a canteen of water and a slice of cheese.  
  
He let out a whoop and stuffed the cheese gratefully into his mouth with a heavenly sigh "Mwnfu"  
  
"Welcome" I took a bit of bread and some water and wrapped the rest up carefully  
  
My stomach growled and I quietened it with the loaf and adjusted the weighty sword at my side.  
  
"Would you be able to use that thing when it's time to fight?" Sao asked, out of the corner of his eyes throwing a doubting look at my arms and the sword  
  
I looked at the sword myself; unsure that I could, even though I'd have a five-minute crash course when we'd brought some in Kakariko last time we were here in arrows and sword basics I hadn't REALLY had to use them.  
  
I shook the thoughts away, how hard could it be? "Sure I can use a sword," I said with my nose in the air, praying my lies wouldn't have to be proved "Anyone can use a sword"  
  
"Well..."  
  
"Can't they?"  
  
"I guess"  
  
"Well then" I said, finishing the conversation  
  
Sometimes fate decides to give you a helping hand, I hoped she'd give me one when it was time to fight because otherwise I'd be finished off even before Dark Link got me.  
  
My heart did an involuntary leap at the mention of Dark Link; I cursed it, why did my body go against me like this? It wasn't right that my stomach caught butterflies when I thought about the dream, it wasn't my fault, it did it on it's own. Curses, curses, curses, as they say. It hadn't even been a romantic dream, damn it! He'd threatened to kill me.  
  
If he hadn't looked like Link I'd be perfectly ok. And now my body decided it was going to have a crush on him, even though my head was saying 'You're crazy! He's evil, he is going to kill you!'  
  
He probably would kill me, I had no way to protect myself, and I'd be used as a gateway to let Reika and Gannondorf out of their prison in the Sacred Realm, if only a Goddess would show up now!  
  
Fairly certain that the tribe and Lucy wouldn't be dead by the time we reached wherever the tracks led, we rode into the canyon in the morning sunlight and came to an abrupt stop.  
  
Bomb-chu, everywhere and anywhere. Up the walls and all over the floors. It was scary, there were so many, not just the occasional ones I'd expected. They were like a carpet.  
  
"Well" I said slowly "How are we going to get through them?"  
  
Sao thought for a moment then looked around the canyon, back to the pillars in the distance and then back to the canyon.  
  
"We can go over the top"  
  
"What?"  
  
Sao pointed to the top of the rock ridge "We'd have to leave the horses but if we could climb up there then we'd be able to follow the canyon around without Bomb-chu trouble"  
  
I looked up, the top of the canyon was at least 5 floors of a building up, my arms weren't that strong.  
  
Sao swung off his horse and pulled off a rope that had been on his saddle horn and began to tie it around his waist.  
  
I stared "I can't do it"  
  
Sao looked shocked "You can't climb?"  
  
"No"  
  
He looked up at the mountain and back at me "This is barely a hill, even the children in our climb could climb this"  
  
I stared "F*** no"  
  
"Get off the horse" Sao began to move towards me  
  
"No, no, no, no, no" I pulled Bertha back "No climbing for me"  
  
"Don't be such a baby"  
  
He began to walk towards me and reach out for Bertha's reins, as soon as he grabbed them I leapt off the horse and began heading in the opposite direction, oblivious to the bomb-chu.  
  
"Hey! Stop!"  
  
I ignored his calls; I wanted to help Lucy, sure. But then, I wasn't prepared to climb up a mountain.  
  
I heard him curse and tie the horses together before the rush of footsteps joined in with my pace.  
  
Nope, wasn't going to stop.  
  
Unfortunately the bomb-chu had other ideas.  
  
They began to chase me.  
  
"Run!" Sao was actually telling me to run now, how ironic  
  
I didn't stop to think about it twice I sped up even though stitch was getting to me and I began to run out of breath,  
  
I could hear fizzing from all directions; I was definitely heading for heaven at this rate.  
  
Once more, it was death's knell for me.  
  
My heart skipped a beat and I couldn't run anymore, stumbling I fell onto the dusty floor, tired out.  
  
The bomb-chu rushed towards me and began to detonate themselves.  
  
I stared up at the blue sky and waited.  
  
An explosion rocked the world.  
  
...  
  
...  
  
...  
  
But nothing hit me, nothing happened.  
  
Quiet.  
  
I sat up.  
  
I was on the grassy plain again. The world my head had created.  
  
"Great" I stood up "I must have been knocked out"  
  
The quiet was deafening, the plain's wind had disappeared and the stillness was fairly frightening.  
  
"You're pretty stupid"  
  
I jumped out my skin and turned to find Dark Link had returned to my head, against my will, my heart began to beat faster. I folded my arms, worried that he might hear it or something.  
  
He seemed unimpressed "Are you trying to kill yourself before you get to me?"  
  
I grinned "That would make it harder for you to open a gateway"  
  
"Yes, but then all those poor people will die"  
  
"Good point"  
  
He had Link's sense of humour, they were so alike yet so unlike. I just felt like I was having a conversation with Link.  
  
"You ARE stupid if you agree with me" Dark Link pouted "And here I was thinking that you had a brain on you"  
  
"If you're going to insult me, I'm going to have to wake up" I replied, waving my hand dismissively, "Go on, just leave, you're trespassing anyway"  
  
Dark Link stared, a bit in disbelief I think.  
  
"...No one has...ever stood up to ME before" he said slowly  
  
I stared back at him "What?"  
  
Dark Link coughed and looked away, did his face just go red? Maybe he was more like Link than I thought.  
  
He turned away and said "I'm still going to kill you"  
  
He disappeared.  
  
I looked around as the plain faded and said out loud "But I didn't question it"  
  
* * *  
  
I came around gradually to the banter of Sao; I assumed it was on my recklessness because it was in that sort of tone. I couldn't really make out the words because my head felt fuzzy.  
  
I could vaguely feel the movement of something beneath me and as I opened my eyes I realised he was giving me a piggyback to where we'd left the horses (I could see them wandering in the distance under the rough terrain of the mountains).  
  
"How could you be so stupid to run off like that?" I heard him snap, "You could have been seriously hurt, I don't even know HOW you're not hurt"  
  
I shook my head "W-what?"  
  
Sao grunted in surprise "You're awake, huh? Well good, at least now you can hear my ranting and learn something"  
  
I tried to shake the grogginess again "I wasn't hurt? I thought I was dead"  
  
"I don't know how it happened but" Sao put me down next to Bertha and continued with "You don't have a mark on you"  
  
I inspected my arms and face carefully, apart from the black eye I sported from Sao there were no other injuries.  
  
'I'm still going to kill you'  
  
Dark Link's voice came back to me suddenly, had he protected me? To make sure I got there so he could kill me? Was that what he'd been talking about? Probably, I wouldn't be surprised.  
  
"You didn't see anyone protect me did you?" I asked Sao  
  
"Nope, no one except you and the bomb-chu" Sao sighed "I really thought you were going to die"  
  
I grinned "Sao, were you worried?"  
  
For an instant I saw Dark Link's expression in Sao as he did the same cough thing and turned away with an "Of course not"  
  
"Oh"  
  
"Yep, I just need a climbing partner"  
  
"Right"  
  
I didn't believe him, I secretly laughed at how he acted like he was so cool when I knew how emotional he could get. He'd found me the only survivor at one point and cried and then he'd punched me. Nice.  
  
So anyway, after the little episode with more Dark Link and some bomb-chu I decided that I would climb the mountain, but only if...  
  
"I am NOT giving you a piggy back up the mountain"  
  
"Why not?" I knew I was whining, I was nearly 18 and I still had one of the best whines around my area, I could get anyone to do anything  
  
"I SAID NO!"  
  
Maybe not.  
  
Must be losing my touch.  
  
* * *  
  
Sorry it took so long for this chapter to get out! I was going to make it longer but I've been snowed under by revision and my new fic and I promise this one will not die out! I'm determined to finish the trilogy! Please read and review! 


	15. I Must End Up Alone For A Reason

Thank you for the reviews, I'm really sorry not much is happening at the moment, I've been so busy. But hey! We reached the magic number of 100 reviews! At only 15 chapters! Thank you to all the readers and everybody! Yay!!!! Hmm you all have ideas on Dark Link then, don't you? For some reason ff.net isn't registering all your reviews, no idea why though, you're on the review page good and clear but your not registered in the stats section 0_o. So so so so sos ososososososososososos sorry for not cranking out these chapters like I used to, I'm almost dry on ideas (almost!) so please leave comments and such in a review and inspire me!  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Zelda!  
  
* * *  
  
It was a vertical rock face.  
  
We spent around two hours on that mountain. Two hours of climbing, Sao went first, finding the way, practically a mountain goat. We had one rope to hold us if we fell and that was being held by Sao, so if he fell then it would be my job to hold him up. Unfortunately I doubted that I could hold such a weight on my own.  
  
It was a sorry state we ended up at the top in, my fingers were bleeding from the sharp rock and my elbows and knees were grazed. Sao seemed perfectly fine but more than happy to help me patch up.  
  
But it was a mixed blessing as we looked down in to the canyon, not only did it seem that we could see the trail clearly made by the captives but also it seemed like a straight run of rock to nearly everywhere in the canyon and a jumpable distance across the sides at places ahead if we needed to cross.  
  
We were also safe from bomb-chu.  
  
I was obviously going end up the beaten woman that Anju had seen in me because by list of injuries seemed to piling up every hour.  
  
The sun was hot and as we walked across the flat plain of rock with our huge bags and weapons it seemed like the whole world was wobbling and I frequently had to be pulled back from the edge of the cliff by Sao.  
  
I was glad I wasn't going this alone.  
  
It would be even better if Link were here, where was he anyway? It was turning into the big Me and Sao Adventure. Well, he was cute...and Link was married...but then, Sao had said Lucy was cute too. So he obviously wasn't interested in any more than friendship.   
  
I was glad of that, I guess, because if there was something more than that it might have got in the way.  
  
Dark Link? Hmm, good looking, evil. But wasn't that always the way? Anyway, Link would hate me for thinking like this, but then...wasn't Dark Link, Link? Too confusing, best not to think about him.  
  
We spent the day travelling along the top of the canyon and following the trails below, it turned out that the maze of the canyons was impossible to navigate from inside even though these tracks seemed to know where they were going.  
  
"I bet he's got a big underground lair or something," Sao said as we once again checking the route of the tracks "He's making us follow him. Using them as bait. We'll have a tough time leading them out of these canyons too. That's if we can even get close. You ought to stay here, it might be dangerous"  
  
"No way. It's all my fault, all of this" I replied "So I may as well follow to help clear up this mess"  
  
"How is it your fault? You can't help the way you were born"  
  
I smiled "Thanks but, it's me he's after and if we don't get there he's going to kill them. Just because I'm a seer and he's planning to..."  
  
Sao looked at me "Planning to what?"  
  
"Planning to release Reika and Gannondorf with my powers"  
  
"How do you know?"  
  
"Well..." I shrugged, and lied "It's just obvious, what else would he want? And anyway, history repeats itself, and Reika wanted Seer blood to release Gannondorf the first time"  
  
Sao didn't look convinced, "You're hiding something from me"  
  
I looked into the canyon "No, I'm not"  
  
I just hoped I was a good a liar as I thought I was. I didn't really want to lie but then, what else could I do? Say I was a liability because I was letting people in my head when I slept? Say I was falling for the bad guy?  
  
Why was it that all of the bad people were good looking? It was completely a Sod's Law.  
  
I looked at a small bird in the sky, jumping when a larger one swooped out of no where to catch it in it's claw. A black bird.  
  
I felt just like the small one. Being torn between three larger birds. Whom did I owe loyalty? Link because he was the one I counted on all the time? Sao because he had helped me thus far, or Dark Link, just because he had a slight power as a love interest but wanted to kill me?  
  
I remember once when I was small, watching my sister cry over a boy at school. I don't know why it stuck with me, perhaps it was the heartbreak she thought she was feeling, just over a crush. Or maybe it was the fact that this was perhaps all women's fate. It always is the woman who gets hurt, after all.  
  
Then big yellow sun began to make it's way slowly towards the ground, in a long arc as the daytime moon appeared to take it's place, in a blue sky overhead.  
  
We'd made barely any progress in this day, it was amazing how much you could get done in a game and then do only a minuscule amount of it in real life. It was disappointing. But somehow I imagined that we were getting closer to our destination.   
  
It had been around two days since our start from Clock Town and the bad people had only had a short night's head start from us, so we must have been catching up pretty fast since there were only two of us making good time compared to a whole train of people, most of whom were probably resisting.  
  
Lucy undoubtedly was.  
  
Sao also seemed to be feeling this closeness to the end. He seemed more urgent, and kept telling me to make more speed to get over the largest amount of land possible before we lost light.  
  
In fact, even after the sun went down we were still moving. I wondered if Link was moving somewhere too.  
  
He had little kids somewhere too, I smiled, Tate had been so cute, and it was obvious he was going to be a little Link clone when he grew up. That would be something to see, maybe he wouldn't have to fight for his life like his father did though.   
  
Did Sao have kids? I wondered because it had only seemed to be men in his Tribe where we'd been before. And they'd said they'd been cut off from the village in Snowhead. He might do, it was possible, after all, Hyrule and Termina seemed to be sort of stuck in Medieval Times, so that would mean young marridges. I decided to ask.  
  
"Sao?"  
  
"Mmmm?"  
  
He didn't stop, we kept on moving fast, sort of a half walk, half run in the moonlight even though we were both hungry and tired.  
  
"Do you have any children?"  
  
He didn't reply. He only seemed about my age but as soon as I'd asked his features had aged. And he had seemed a whole lot older.   
  
"One"  
  
My jaw dropped, so he did have children. I wondered who he had had them with. What was she like? How weird, I'd never really imagined him having kids, but then, everyone here seemed to be having kids Link, Kestrel, Anju. Glad it wasn't me, I didn't want the trouble, or the hassle of regaining a figure.  
  
I looked over to him, he seemed unfazed by the question but looked sort of hard in the dim light, his face was positively stony.  
  
"Really?"  
  
"A girl, Aki, three" he said calmly, looking into the darkness for enemies  
  
"Will I get to meet her?" I asked, smiling  
  
Sao didn't look at me or even smile "She's dead" he said flatly  
  
Dead.  
  
Wow.  
  
I stared. I felt my heart ache for him, he looked like he didn't care, the way he said it. Poor guy, I wished I hadn't brought it up.  
  
"Her mother's dead too"  
  
Another gasp from me, he'd volunteered the information himself as well. I looked at the moon, poor guy, I wondered how they'd died and how long they'd been in a family together. What a blow, and I'd just brought it all up.  
  
Stupid, stupid me.  
  
I felt very guilty right then, but he said nothing else and I didn't either.  
  
* * *  
  
We ran through the night, but at one point we had had to stop because I'd fainted from hunger and fatigue, unfortunately I wasn't allowed a rest and once I'd come around and been given food we were off again.  
  
I felt like a wreck and must have looked like it too, the rate my injuries kept going, my fingertips were sore, my face ached and my arms and legs yelled at me to low down.  
  
But, at last, when it seemed like we'd never stop running, we came across our first bit of luck.  
  
The tracks were ending, they had spread out and began to heard down into a small canyon and ahead of that we could see an entrance to cavern, I wouldn't have been surprised if that was the same cave that Kafei used to hang out in front of to get his sun mask back.  
  
We slowed down to get a better view. As we drew nearer the rock ace we could see tiny windows carved out of the rock, a perfectly hidden fortress was imbedded into the cliff.  
  
He was here.  
  
Lucy was here.  
  
I could feel it.  
  
The air practically hummed.  
  
"Look over there" Sao spoke his first words since the child talk   
  
"Where?"  
  
"On the plateau above the cliff"  
  
Just about the fortress a large carving was placed, we couldn't see it very well from where we are but I could take a pretty good guess and say that it was a triforce marked into the soil.  
  
"What do we do?" I asked Sao "I hadn't really thought about what we were going to do to get them out"  
  
"We're going to kill Shadow Man" Sao said darkly  
  
I looked at him "We are?"  
  
Sao shot me a look of disbelief mixed in with 'are you stupid?' and replied "What? You were having second thoughts? After what he did to the camp and your friend?"  
  
I felt my stomach and shoulder tenderly and replied "Violence solves nothing"  
  
"Oh that's a change, coming from you" Sao said, raising an eyebrow "I thought you wanted to kill him before he killed you"  
  
I swung round on him and said harshly "I never said that! I barely even know you, don't even think about saying that you think you know what I want"  
  
Sao stared. I stared, where had that come from? Why had it come? Was I afraid for Dark Link? How could that be?  
  
I'd thought earlier that maybe Dark Link had saved me from the bomb-chu, now that the wounds he had dealt me at the camp came back to mind, had he healed me those as well? Strange boy.  
  
Sao looked sort of hurt, and a little betrayed as he stared down into the ravine. We watched a lone Stalfos come out of the cave and look around, before heading inside again.  
  
"That's definitely the place" Sao said coldly, drawing his large curved sword and checking his other weapons were in reach "Do what you want, girl. I'm going to kill Shadow Man"  
  
Sao began to make his way over the edge, without a second person he'd die if he fell, but his anger was fuelling his climbing ability and in a little while he had practically slid to the bottom.  
  
I stared after him, clenching my fists in frustration, what had I done? I'd wrecked our relationship again! And I needed his help.   
  
He obviously didn't need mine. What had I said though? I had completely turned around on my revenge scheme, I needed to kill Dark Link to stop him doing what he was going to do, and he was going to kill me to use in his evil scheme and probably kill everyone else too.   
  
Yet I was reluctant to head in there.  
  
I watched Sao walk confidently below me into the darkness.  
  
It was going to be hard to get down there.   
  
But I wasn't going to let Sao face it alone, I needed to stop Dark Link and save Lucy.   
  
"Where's Link when you need him?" I said out loud and began to head toward the edge of the cliff  
  
I looked over the edge and swayed, a long way down.  
  
Adjusting all my equipment I began to sit and slide myself over the edge carefully. I began to make my way slowly down.  
  
A rock slipped and I fell.  
  
Luckily my nails and feet were dug into the rock, so I slid at a high speed down the rock face, dust and stones littering my fall and blinding me in the free fall. I could feel my skin being ripped and burned by the friction but held on as best I could.  
  
Falling near the bottom I hit the dirt with agonising force and lay there for a moment, unsure whether it was too late to yell or too early to burst into tears.  
  
Once more I was utterly alone.  
  
In pain.  
  
And alone.  
  
Again.  
  
I really wasn't doing that well this time around. Too bad, if they fates were trying to get me to quit then NO WAY. I was taking Lucy home with me.  
  
I pulled myself up and drew my sword, ignoring the blood that was now dribbling down my arms, too bad, if I was going to die trying then it was better than not trying at all.  
  
I pulled myself together, dusted myself off and marched toward the cave. I was going in, too bad if Dark Link was in my way.  
  
I looked up at the sky before I went in, taking a last look at the light, then headed into the blackness beyond.  
  
* * *   
  
It was cold in the dark. I walked with my hand on the stone wall, half more afraid of that because who knew what could be sitting on the wall, a spike? An animal? It was even scarier than the dark.  
  
Almost.  
  
The dark was very stuffy, the heat from outside, suddenly evaporating in the shadow, gave way to a coldness that made you sweat with chills. It was worse in a way. I was glad I'd brought all Link's weapons.   
  
The sound of my feet echoed along the hall so I thought once of twice that Sao or an enemy was coming towards me.  
  
I had to be careful where I put my feet and once of twice I heard my feet slide a stone that seemed to fall somewhere, and it was a long time before I heard it hit anything, water or otherwise. I kept wiping the sweat off my hands on my trousers and tried to keep a clear head.  
  
I listened, but I've never been good at hearing because I was always daydreaming. Couldn't day dream now. One daydream and I was over a cliff in the dark or something.  
  
I would have thought that the enemy would have put lamps up or something so they themselves could see where they were going, obviously they could see in the dark or they were trying to spite me. It was hard going, every so often I'd fall down and bruise my already pained legs.  
  
It was also wet in the tunnel, I assumed it was a tunnel because it seemed to be going somewhere.   
  
I couldn't be sure but it felt like there were footsteps behind me, it might have been my own footsteps echoing back towards me but it sounded a little too out of time with my feet and their echo to be me.  
  
I shuffled the sword in my hand and tried to speed up carefully, where did Sao go? He couldn't be that far ahead, he hadn't been in long before I'd come after him.  
  
He was going to kill Dark Link. I was going to kill Dark Link, and Dark Link wanted to kill me! But could I kill someone who looked so much like Link? Did Sao hate Dark Link for kidnapping his people and burning his camp, well obviously? Did Dark Link actually save me from the wounds he himself had inflicted and from the bombchu? Did I hate Dark Link enough to kill him? I hadn't killed Reika and I had hated her.  
  
My head literally swam in these questions. There were too many to answer by myself.  
  
Dark Link. I did a silent sort of swoon in the dark and then slapped myself for being so stupid, sure he looked like Link and sure I had liked Link when he looked like that, but Dark Link was EVIL. Hence the name. And he was going to kill me, not a great favour factor.   
  
But then, he was cute. And Link was taken by Zelda...with kids. That did make him a no-no, hell, he was too old anyway!  
  
I found myself grinning at my thoughts and forgot to be careful with my movements, I put my foot down on to nothing and fell through.  
  
I yelled with surprise and put out my hands to grab something, anything that I could, anything that could save my. Flinging my arms wildly as I slipped into what seemed like a bottomless pit someone grabbed my wrists and pulled me back.  
  
I fell on top of them and we both went flying to the floor in the dark. Strange sensation really, it still felt like I was falling into the bottomless pit. It wouldn't have been so frightening if I could see what I had been falling into. My heart was racing and for a moment I forgot that I was lying on someone. I remembered and found it was a guy, whoever it was, because there was an obvious lack of chest.  
  
I pulled off quickly and was amazed to find my sword hadn't disappeared forever because it was on the ground, pulling it up I backed against the wall and was silent for a moment, waiting for them to move.  
  
They seemed a little breathless because for a moment there was nothing but the sound of our breathing. Were they going to say something? For all I knew it was a Stalfos or something, yet the feel of them had been human-like.   
  
I heard a groan and the shuffle of rocks and fabric as they moved up off the floor, I waited as my heart seemed to pull itself out of my ribcage with fright.  
  
"Are you alright?" a gruff voice asked, it sounded so raw that I couldn't tell whether it was human  
  
I didn't say anything, was this person friendly or not? They'd saved me sure, but then hadn't Dark Link? And he wanted to kill me! I tried to still my breathing so they wouldn't find me.  
  
The person groaned and said warily "You still here?"  
  
I kicked a stone near my feet for a reply.  
  
"Is that all I get?" they said in a disgruntled tone, "You could at least say thank you"  
  
Dark Link?   
  
It definitely sounded like Link, I felt a sudden urge to thank him, even if he was going to kill me later on. I stepped forward and wrapped my arms around him tightly and then I was suddenly shocked to find his chest was moving, so I hadn't imagined him breathing earlier.  
  
Breathing?  
  
I pulled back, "Link?" I said loudly  
  
"Well I was just expecting a thank you but then a hug's good too"  
  
I almost broke into tears and went back to hug him again, it was really Link, I could feel his shield and weapons across his back and his larger bulk than Dark Link. I silently cried for a moment into his shoulder as he scolded me for disappearing.  
  
"I thought you were dead" he said, his arms still around me, I felt that same sort of warmness that I always associated with him, and realised that Dark Link had not held that warmth "I came back and you were gone, I knew Dark Link had been and I thought he'd taken you"  
  
"No, I was almost dead but then I was saved, by these people, they brought Lucy here too, Lucy was taken and Sao's people, one of the people who saved me, Sao's people were taken by Dark Link and so was Lucy, and Dark Link's going to kill me unless I go to him and Lucy and the others will die unless I go but I don't want to die"  
  
"What are you talking about?" Link said through the Dark, I could feel his hair on my forehead and for a second I wished that he liked me and Dark Link didn't, Dark Link didn't anyway, he was going to kill me  
  
I explained to Link what had happened more slowly but in short hand version up to the point where he'd caught me.  
  
"How did you know I was here?" I asked afterwards  
  
"I didn't I followed a large set of tracks, I also followed a trail of Stalfos. I saw you coming in here just as I got here myself"  
  
"Wow"  
  
"I'll tell you about it later. You said Lucy needs rescuing? How long has she been here, WHY is she here?"  
  
"Dark Link is going to release Reika and Ganondorf"  
  
"Goddesses, doesn't it EVER stop?"  
  
"Nope, anyway it all ties back to when we were here last time. Apparently I'm some sort of seer person who can travel between worlds and Reika wanted a seer to release Gannondorf last time. Anyway so she was looking for one when we turned up on her doorstep! Anyway so we defeated her, right? And now Dark Link wants a seer to release both Reika and Gannondorf into Termina!"  
  
"Oh"  
  
"Oh? It's a bit worse than 'oh'!"  
  
"Yeah, it is. I guess we need to rescue Lucy"  
  
"Sao, the person I was with, came in here before me to rescue his tribe and Lucy" I said "And kill Dark Link"  
  
Link pushed me away, and said darkly "He won't be able to"  
  
"Why not"  
  
"Only I can kill him" Link replied, it was strange not being able to see him while he spoke, I wanted to make sure it was really him "It's all to do with the opposite thing"  
  
"Right" I said, "I think we ought to get going"  
  
"Where to?"  
  
"Well this tunnel ought to go somewhere"  
  
"Let's go then"  
  
* * *  
  
OK, read, review and be happy. I'm sorry about the lack of activity, I plan to get this back on it's feet soon but I'm entering exam period so I'm a bit snowed under at the moment! 


	16. Many Misfortunes

Well I'm glad you guys didn't give up on me. I actually had an idea for this chapter just after I'd published the other although I don't know how long it will take to crank this one out!  
  
So anyway, I'm high on FMV scenes from the Final Fantasy X-2 game, I don't own a playstation 2...or a playstation (Nintendo girl all the way) but I'm a sucker for pretty videos. And this new game seems to be plucking at my heart, I have the slow theme song in my head. Perfect. It's quite lonely though...  
  
Sorry once again about the lacking in updates!  
  
I really want to write something sad now, so look out!  
  
* * *  
  
I'd found him again, if my heart was any louder it would have sung. I was a little upset that Dark Link hadn't received my hug but that feeling was overwhelmed by my gladness for finding Link again. It seemed like I had another layer of protection from the enemy. Sure I was infatuated practically with the enemy but that didn't mean he wasn't going to kill me.  
  
I was sleepy in the dark now, it made sense, I hadn't slept ever since Dark Link had come into my dream, and if you counted the unconsciousness as sleeping then that as well. And the dark seemed to make me drowsy. I couldn't risk opening my head again, not now. It would let him know where I was and what was going on. I couldn't risk it.  
  
Why did everything seem to be building up to one pivotal moment? That's the way life is I guess.  
  
Still, I had found Link again and that was a blessing in itself. I had gladly handed over the reins of this mission, he had the most experience.  
  
I was holding his hand too.  
  
I blushed silently in the dark, what I wouldn't have given a few years ago for this. But, 14 year olds don't have their hands held by guys. At least I didn't, never been kissed or had a boyfriend. And I was nearly 18...well...I wasn't QUITE into spinsterhood yet.  
  
That's what Lucy had been better at than me, getting guys to crowd around her. Not that I wanted them 'crowding' exactly, but it would be nice to actually get some attention. And here I was, getting attention, and it was from somebody evil.  
  
But had Sao been giving me attention before I'd made him upset/mad/other volatile emotion? No, he'd said Lucy was cute. But then he had seemed concerned with the bomb-chu incident, and he had told me frequently about his family.  
  
I thought about that again, he was so young! How could he have a dead wife and child? It was like some sort of film.  
  
My head span in my drowsiness and adrenaline from the upcoming darkness and the surrounding black.  
  
Link didn't speak, he was just concentrating on the job, to get Lucy and the others out, and, I suspect, to kill Dark Link.  
  
It must have been a lucky day the day we walked around in those tunnels. Lucky in some ways but not in others obviously it seemed. Since I'd managed to find Link and soon we would have the fortune to find something else. Totally unexpected, but that didn't mean it was good luck.  
  
"Ah s***" something (i.e. the curse) echoed around us  
  
"Freeze" Link hissed and pushed me against the wall  
  
It was comforting having him there in the dark, with all his weapons and with absolutely no hard feelings against me whatsoever, unlike Sao seemed to have. I really did seem to blunder a lot with him, even so, it didn't mean I wasn't worried about him all the same.  
  
We waited and soon a couple of blundering footsteps came in our direction, whispering and falling every so often.  
  
They came closer and closer and I could feel Link's shoulder tense up next to me in wait for the attackers.  
  
But they weren't attackers.  
  
One walked right into me and said loudly "I thought I told you to walk behind me"  
  
"I am!"  
  
Letting out a yelp, I grinned and reached out to grasp the voice firmly in a hug and a pile of fluffy hair went up my nostrils.  
  
The person screamed and flailed out at me until I put my hand over their mouth and said firmly "Lucy you stupid thing it's us"  
  
The screaming stopped and then the hug was returned wildly and my friend let off a whoop of "Kafei they've come to get us!"  
  
"Kafei?" Link said in disbelief "What are you doing here?"  
  
"Who are you people?" Kafei said in reply "I should be the one to ask you that!" he sneezed and coughed explosively  
  
"Still got a cold, huh?" I asked into the dark playfully  
  
"Pneumonia actually" came the reply "Hey, are you think girl who got stabbed?"  
  
"Stabbed?" Link enquired, instantly beginning to feel me up for wounds until I shoved him away  
  
"Yeah, but that's gone now" I replied, ignoring the disbelieving snort from Link  
  
"I thought you were dead" Lucy sniffed, "And we've been walking for days..."  
  
I squeezed her shoulder and said "I'm still quite alive"  
  
"Is it still snowing?" I blocked up Kafei asked  
  
I realised and thought back, I hadn't seen snow since before the bomb-chu, it had been getting thinner and thinner so gradually that I hadn't noticed when it was gone. And I had had a lot on my mind.  
  
"Dark Link must be letting up now you're here" Link said reasonably, "After all, what else does he want?"  
  
I nodded, unaware that in the dark no one would see me agree like that.  
  
"How many people are hurt?" I asked   
  
"Not many, just a few cuts and bruises mostly" Lucy replied  
  
"Yeah, he hasn't killed anyone, that Boss has been pretty reasonable, giving us food and medicine and water and stuff. We've been treated pretty well...after the attack and all..." Kafei chimed in  
  
"Yeah" Lucy said and then added darkly "We've just managed to sneak away after that head man, what's his name, Shigeru? After Shigeru caused a distraction to those skeleton things"  
  
"Stalfos" Link automatically corrected  
  
"Whatever" Lucy continued anyway" We were coming to get help, and, well, here you are!"  
  
"Sao should be I here somewhere, you didn't pass him did you?" I asked  
  
"Who? That guy? Nope, seen no one but you in these dark tunnels"  
  
Right. So he'd by-passed them, maybe he was in a fight already, maybe he was caught, or dead. Too many possibilities.  
  
We began to walk onward, despite Lucy and Kafei wanting to get out, we felt that they should come along to avoid getting in trouble. Too bad we were leading them into more trouble, but at least Link would protect us all. I hoped. We just carried on in a line, Link at the front, Kafei at the back. I didn't want to argue but it did seem terribly sexist. But then, this place was sort of stuck in a cleaner medieval time so maybe that made sense.   
  
The dark felt at least a little less constricting with the others with us so that was a good thing. But it still seemed to have lurking potholes and several times we all had to be rescued from the pitfalls, Link included, how humbling for him.  
  
Noises became more frequent in the dark. Screams, scarily, and other sounds of yelling. Link mused in a whisper that maybe Sao was having more luck than he'd thought he'd have. I hoped he had had more luck than we'd thought he would have had. I wanted him to survive.  
  
It turned out we'd see him as well sooner than we had hoped.   
  
As we turned a corner, in our slow, winding trail, we came blinking into a circular round room with several exits leading off it. I couldn't tell where the light was, but after being in the dark so long it took a while to get used to the brightness again. When I did, I was astonished to see Sao, with a raised eyebrow at our peculiar crew (think about it, someone with pneumonia, a girl with puffy hair, one who wants to look like she knows what she looks like and a big buff guy older than all three of them in half armour).  
  
"I guess you followed" he said absently and turned back to the tunnels  
  
"Guess so" I replied airily  
  
"Great" Link said smiling, "We can join up now, the more the merrier"  
  
"Sure" Sao shrugged "If you can tell us which way to go"  
  
Link looked at all the passageways, all leading to darkness and shrugged as well "I have no idea"  
  
I sighed, this was going to be a long wait.  
  
...  
  
...  
  
Suddenly, my head was filled with another place. My dream plain suddenly filled all the corners of the room and I wasn't in the same place as before. The wind was still as clear as I remembered and the sky twinkled and rippled along with the breeze. The grass as green as ever rippled in unison and swayed past my legs.  
  
"Where are you?"  
  
I spun around to find Dark Link with his arms crossed and looking at me with annoyance.   
  
"What?" I got out  
  
"Where are you? Someone hasn't been asleep for a while" Link said, frowning "I wish to know where you are"  
  
I grinned, "Oops, sorry, I forgot. Lack of sleep you know" I folded my arms to mirror him "I beat you at that game"  
  
He scowled "What's with you?" if I wasn't mistaken he looked a little upset  
  
"Nothing" I replied, "I'm just talking with the amount of respect that you deserve. For some who's going to kill me"  
  
A blast of realisation crossed his face and suddenly the room with the tunnels and everyone in it passed across my sight again and as soon as it had happened I was back on the plain. His face darkened and the upset look disappeared to be replaced with one of anger.  
  
"You're here, aren't you?" Link asked suddenly, striding up to me and grabbing my arms "Do you think you can possibly kill me? Even with the hero of time? Fool, I'm not even human"  
  
I pulled my wrist away, this guy was angry now.  
  
"You can't kill me" he said loudly and then was about to say something else, before reconsidering and saying quietly "Anyway...I told you those men couldn't protect you..."  
  
I didn't like the look in his eyes, they were staring intently at me, but they held none of Link's warmth. Was this the person I had fooled myself into liking? Someone cruel? If he was a part of Link then how could that be? Yet his eyes looked like they held a betrayal. I hadn't betrayed him by coming here had I?  
  
He thought for a moment and then he grinned wolfishly and said "They can't protect you if you're alone"  
  
"I'm not alone, you're alone Link," I said coldly  
  
"You soon will be" he replied in a strange voice "Are you coming to kill me?"  
  
I suddenly found my mouth and voice were speaking on their own and I heard myself say, "I'm not going to kill Dark Link, I feel too much for him"  
  
And a far away voice in my ear yelled, protesting. Was it Lucy? Someone was protesting this statement, I felt my own head and mind rejecting it as well but it did nothing.  
  
"Good girl" he said quietly  
  
Hold on my wrists relaxed and in a flash his eyes were back to the way I'd seen them before, a cold shade but with something indescribable in them.  
  
I found my eyes were beginning to fill up. The feeling was cold, a deep sadness and a loneliness, a longing for something. It was painful, my head was spinning and the tears began to leak out, what was I feeling? Or was I feeling someone else?  
  
He brushed a tear away and said, his eyes flashing to something different again, it seemed he had many shades of blue for many moods that he felt "Don't cry, this is what has to be"  
  
He pulled my arm towards him and I found my face was nearing his. I couldn't stop this feeling of sadness, was Dark Link filling me with sadness, a vision of things to come?  
  
The person without breath suddenly leaned in and kissed me lightly on the lips before pulling away. I found it hard to breath and closed my eyes to pull myself together. Opening them I found that I was pulling myself away from someone.  
  
Link.  
  
I was back in the round and bright room. With everyone staring at me.  
  
I had kissed Link.  
  
I felt a tear slide down my cheek, my lips were salty, I'd been crying here too.   
  
"So" Sao said coldly "The truth comes out"  
  
I spun round to face him, looking at Link and finding him dumbstruck, his hand to his mouth, trying to figure out what had just happened. I'd kissed him, I found I was mirroring him, my hand over my mouth, I suddenly found it hard to breathe.  
  
"Oh god" I whispered, blinking away more tears  
  
"You're not going to kill him?" Lucy asked, horrified "After what he did? What he's GOING to do?"  
  
I'd said it here as well. Dark Link had made me say it here. The vision had been him controlling me not just a dream. I'd kissed Link. Feeling sick I rubbed my arms to rid myself of the cold feeling.  
  
The cold feeling left me, it had been control. That cold feeling had been his control of me. No wonder it had made me feel so odd.   
  
Sao looked livid with anger "I knew you were up to something when you said violence wasn't the only way. You'd been communicating with him, hadn't you? How did you do it?" his face blanked and then he realised "The unconsciousness. You were communicating with him through that weren't you?" he looked betrayed and angry and hurt all into one "I'm surprised he hasn't attacked us already with his spy in our midst!"  
  
"Hey" Lucy protested at the term  
  
"Shut up, I know what's going on," Sao snapped before growling in my direction "I can see when someone's not loyal to the side of good"  
  
"Is this true?"  
  
I looked at Link, finding my breathing was coming harshly, my eyes were wet with tears. I could still feel the pressure of the kiss on my lips. I touched them with my fingers, it had been them both, and I had kissed both of them under Dark Link's control. Link and Dark Link, but who has kissed back if it was a vision?  
  
They all looked at me, some with confusion and hurt, some angry and looking at me with contempt. Yet they were all away from me.  
  
So I was alone now. That's what he'd wanted.  
  
He'd taken them away all at once with this movement.  
  
"It's...I..." I started to say, not finding words to explain  
  
"Have you been talking with him?" Link asked solemnly   
  
"Yes" I whispered, choking slightly and feeling my eyes shed new tears, how could I lie?  
  
"That's it then" Sao said commandingly, "Leave her to her treacherous seer ways, no wonder she caused a war. Let's go save Termina from the likes of her" he strode off into the darkness of a tunnel  
  
"Sao" I called after him   
  
Kafei and Lucy followed uncertainly. I couldn't believe her, she shot me a 'I'm sorry' look and left. My 'best friend' had left me. The evidence against me was undeniable sure but then...didn't friendship mean something more? I sent her a smile all the same to show her I didn't hate her.  
  
It was me and Link left.  
  
He looked at me and said, "You kissed me..."  
  
I wiped my eyes.  
  
"Or was it him you thought you were kissing?"  
  
I couldn't look at him, I had thought it was him, but not in the way he thought it was. It was painful, that cold feeling that I had felt came back with a rush. Link looked hurt, he clenched his fists and looked toward the tunnel the others had gone into.  
  
"I don't want to believe it," he said quietly  
  
"Then don't" I pleaded, "Don't you think you know me? How could I do this?"  
  
"I don't know" he admitted "But here it is, and if you're going to stop us killing him then you can't follow us"  
  
I wiped my eyes "Please don't leave me, this is what he wanted"  
  
"He wanted this?" Link laughed bitterly "I'm sure he did, he always did want what I have...or had anyway"  
  
Link turned around slowly and walked toward the tunnel.  
  
"LINK!" I yelled, he stopped momentarily "I...couldn't...stop it, please believe me"  
  
He didn't reply, but walking into the darkness.  
  
I felt my chest constricting and sank to the dusty floor, crying, I couldn't even see through my hysterics. I was alone, he'd gotten what he wanted. I curled into a ball and bawled. This was it, I was going to die. No one to stop it, god knows I couldn't, who was I kidding?  
  
"I'm going to die" I screamed hitting the floor in rage, choking on salt water and sadness and whispered quietly to the ground "Don't they care?"  
  
They might have done, not anymore, they thought I'd betrayed them. And maybe I had. I'd fallen for the enemy, I'd hurt Link more than any of them. I could have stayed with him years ago and instead I left, and when I returned, once more I didn't choose him but an evil version.  
  
How did he feel when I kissed him?  
  
Had he felt that I was thinking of someone else?  
  
I hadn't meant to think of anyone else. But Link was taken, how could I not think of anyone else? Perhaps if it had been someone other than Dark Link he would have let it slide, but not this. This was betrayal.  
  
I was as bad as they said I was, and now I couldn't do anything.  
  
Wiping my mouth with my hand I sat up, sobbing, and drew my sword. The time when Sao had come I'd been drowning myself. Was it safer for everyone if I was dead? I seemed to cause nothing but trouble.   
  
I looked at the metal, biting my lip. Suicide was wrong. I wanted to go home. But who knew? Maybe if you died here you were sent home.   
  
I pulled the blade, which was too large for me anyway, and held it to my neck. Was this the quickest way? I didn't really care, I ought to suffer for betraying.  
  
About to move the blade across my throat, never believing it would come to this, I felt a hand grab my wrist and ice shot up my arm.  
  
Yelping I shot back away from the blade and stared up at my attacker.  
  
A shadowed figure, blood red glowing orbs for eyes in a barely human shape. Yet it was familiar. The one who had cut me down and the one who had made me alone. Dark Link in his true form.  
  
"Get away from me" I screamed and hit out at him  
  
The form morphed and there was the Dark Link I recognised in front of me.  
  
"I told you they couldn't protect you" he said softly  
  
"Don't look like that" I replied, yanking my wrist away "Don't you look like him!"  
  
Dark Link grinned and said smiling widely "But isn't this what you want me to look like?"  
  
Did I?  
  
I didn't know what I wanted at the moment.  
  
"Come on" Link said and I felt my body beginning to move by itself "Let's go get started"  
  
"Started?" I asked, suddenly fearful  
  
He looked at me as though I was the stupidest person in the world "You're about to die, or had you forgotten?"  
  
"No" I whispered and tried to stop my body from walking after him   
  
I couldn't, so I uselessly went to him through a dark tunnel.  
  
* * *  
  
How was that chapter? I'm so sorry it takes so long at the moment, not my fault! Honestly! So read and review all! 


	17. The Last Third: Part I

Thanks for reviewing the last chapter. Yeah, it was kinda angsty I know but that's the way it had to be, ok? Good. Anyway I guess we are nearing the end, it's shorter than the last one, huh? Yup.   
  
Things are about to get hectic people! Look out for reappearances from characters all over! Goddesses, deaths galore!  
  
You know this is going to be an anti-climax. I know it...  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Zelda  
  
* * *  
  
I was following him. HIM. He was going to kill me. Why was I following him? Because my body was doing something that I didn't want it to do. I think he was controlling it but he said nothing. Yet his face showed it all.  
  
He'd driven them away from me, made me kiss him...Link...say things. And now I was alone. He'd told me I would end up alone. And I did. Because of him.  
  
So now I was walking with him. To my death.  
  
We passed long stretches of tunnel, I heard no echo of life from the others but Stalfos walked past every so often. It was scary that they walked by so close and yet didn't attack or anything like I expected.  
  
After a while of walking around the tunnels we opened up into a...hall, a giant hall. I don't know how else to describe it.  
  
The floor was around the size of a concert hall minus the seats and from the edges a huge curved dome stretched up into the rock above to create a cathedral effect. Light was coming from somewhere but I couldn't tell, the ceiling just stretched away into the air. Like the Snowhead Temple in the game, that but bigger and made of a yellowish stone and perfectly smooth.   
  
In the centre of the floor was carved a huge (I mean HUGE) platform. Just raise a foot off the ground, from the shape of it, a triangle, it was a triforce symbol. Huge. Massive. Other words meaning large. It was a place for a ritual I gathered. Especially for one purpose I guess, killing me.  
  
As my body followed after Link I stared up at the room, could it be called a room, and wondered what was going to happen next and how long I'd have to wait to find out. I didn't want to.  
  
Dark Link seemed on a buzz and keen to explain everything about what was going on in this room and the plan however.  
  
"This room is where the action is going to take place" he cried sounding like some film buff, leaping onto the triforce platform "Soon my master will be free with his queen, free to take over Termina and Hyrule!"  
  
He paused for effect, and seemed put out when I was apparently too fearful to say anything.  
  
"My master, Gannondorf" he continued "And the witch Reika will break through the seal of the sages using the blood of one seer. You. And will be freed from their captivity. Seer's are gateways after all"  
  
I stared at him, so like Link, for once his face lit up with excitement and joy. I wondered if that was how he looked when he killed someone.  
  
"So...we will begin in a few moments"  
  
That soon? I stared at him and then found my body had returned to my control. Unused to the work of keeping up for a moment I sat down quickly on the floor. Off the platform, staring up at this man who was going to kill me.  
  
"I need to ready the ritual of course" Link said, more to himself than to me "A knife...where do I get a good ritual knife? Oh, too late for that, use my dagger. What a rush this is going to be. I wish we could have a more stylish setting"  
  
I was afraid, and upset. My friends had deserted me, I was about to die, and even worse my friends would resent me even more for letting out their worst enemies. Great. I rubbed my arms, trying to comfort myself. Would dying hurt? What would it be like.  
  
My head suddenly plunged into the questions of 'is there life after death?' and all that jazz. I was afraid of dying, no one wants to die. Some might be ok with dying but I didn't want to, not yet. I'd been ready to kill myself earlier but things change.  
  
Would my mum and dad miss me?  
  
How would Lucy get back?  
  
Would she die later?  
  
What would Link do in this sort of situation? Nothing, he wouldn't get himself into this sort of situation. My childhood wasn't meant to prepare me for this. I had a sudden thought, my flashbacks, or dreams of my childhood. Had they meant something? Possibly? Had I know I was going to die.  
  
Link seemed to have decided on how to kill me and I found myself being pulled up by my collar to stand. But my legs wouldn't work, they turned to jelly and he found he had to lift me up and hold me to pull me up onto the platform. Lying me down so he could have a breather. Yet he didn't breath. Obviously his muscles were tired. No breath.  
  
"Are you going to do this with any dignity at all?" Dark Link asked, hands on hips "I don't take any pleasure in killing...well, I do. But you know, this is a ritual and you're supposed to have some dignity"  
  
I looked at my hands, and felt my bruise from Sao. I was alone. I felt tears well up in my eyes all over again and my vision blurred. I felt myself being hauled up again and arms holding my up around my waist and dragging me out into the center of what must have been the triforce mark.  
  
My body felt weak and I found myself sobbing out "I don't want to die"  
  
Who does?  
  
I'd been ready to but how quickly things change. Was I really so selfish?  
  
"I don't want to die, I don't want to die"   
  
I pushed the hands and body in front of me and tried to get away from him. But they were stronger than I'd realised and I just wore myself out. I rested my head on his shoulder, crying, sobbing, sniffing. Hoping that maybe he'd take pity on me. Fat chance, how low was I? I was begging, and earlier I'd been ready to die? I felt awful but that else could I do? What would you do?  
  
I felt a hand on my head and realised Dark Link was still holding me up...he was stroking my hair! With the knife still in his hand! I bit my lip. So this was it. And no one to save me.  
  
"No one wants to die, little girl"   
  
I jumped. Was he being kind? His lungs with no air did not move below me, even after my struggle against him while I was breathing heavily from crying and trying to fight. I blinked and looked at his ear, I couldn't see his face so I looked at his ear and his golden hair and listened.  
  
"No one ever wants to die" he said quietly "But fate has a way of killing all of us. I will go when Link die"  
  
"Then why try to kill him?" I croaked  
  
"Because that's our fate. It's what we were created for" he replied, did I detect a trace of sadness in his voice? Suddenly I felt the cold ice rush through me again and I was cold as he said "I...saw your childhood with him"  
  
I blinked "What?"  
  
"You dream about it" he replied, I felt his gauntleted hand rest on my head again "I made you, so I could see what you've been through"  
  
That's what they had been? He'd been searching my memories, but why? My dreams had been from him wanting to find out about me? It was beginning to make sense, he had been able to get in my head. I imagined him sitting there going through 'photo albums' while I slept, seeing me replay them.  
  
"Little one" he continued sadly, the coldness in my growing "You've seen and felt suffering haven't you? I am made of suffering, you see? I...felt yours, I lived them. I...felt them. I felt everything you felt for him, my other. I..."  
  
I pushed away from him and tried to pull away from him, not even caring if he was spilling out something important before my death scene. He's stronger than he looks, he held me fast and I found him holding my neck fast, and the knife to my throat, like when a mugger is about to kill his victim.  
  
He did nothing.  
  
I began to cry again, hysterically and he did nothing. Did he enjoy this?  
  
Made of suffering. I was numb from the cold.  
  
My face wet from the tears that didn't seem to stop, the coldness seemed to make them come faster. Was it him? Was he doing this?  
  
"I'm cold" he whispered to me "So cold. I'm tired...lonely...cold...And you felt so warm, even when the blood poured from you. I felt something"  
  
Blood? When he'd stabbed me? This coldness was him, wasn't it. I closed my eyes and began to concentrate on the cold. There it was. Seeping into me from my back, Dark Link's sadness...his loneliness, all of these negatives that made him up. The opposite of Link. He didn't breathe, Link did, Dark Link didn't feel, Link did. But that was wrong. Dark Link did feel, he was passing what he felt on to me somehow.  
  
"I felt something" Dark Link continued "And it made me feel...warm...nothing I've ever felt has been warm. Only wrong and cold. But you were dead. I'd killed you. For once I felt even colder even though the warm had just flooded me. So I healed you and it came back"  
  
I listened to his voice as I waited for the steel to cross my neck. Would he get to the killing?  
  
"Even after all you've suffered you're still warm. I wanted to know why, why couldn't I be warm too? I...wanted....to feel how you felt for my other. I think because my other lost the ability to return it...I found it in me"  
  
I drew a sharp breath. What was he getting at?  
  
Suddenly I found my cheek was wet, and not from me. I felt another. Water was dropping on me. Twisting my head I found water was rushing down his face. He wasn't breathing, but crying. How could he cry?  
  
He seemed to be and he couldn't speak it seemed he was so overcome with these tears that had sprouted, and he seemed as amazed as I was that he was crying.  
  
"I found myself loving you, little girl" he said bitterly "Isn't it strange how fate works out?...And now I have to kill you. Funny"  
  
He turned my round and face me, his blue eyes crystal in the light and the tears just rolling down his face. Nothing else. Just water. My body was numb...but...it was fading...  
  
A blast of a hot feeling blasted through me from Link as he said "I'll make it quick" and plunged the knife into my neck.  
  
A bright light flooded the domed room and I couldn't see anymore.  
  
He loved me?  
  
He'd killed me.  
  
Fate certainly worked in mysterious ways.  
  
Fate.  
  
* * *  
  
I was dead.  
  
I'm sure of it.  
  
But then I wasn't.  
  
As soon as I'd hit the floor I felt him fall with me and suddenly pull me back up to him. Dark Link.  
  
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry" he wept in his breathless, sorry, wrecked state. How could he feel this emotion? Was Link hardened towards me and that's why?  
  
I was pulled into his arms and my face was wet with his tears.  
  
"I'm sorry"  
  
And then I couldn't hear anymore. I was dead.  
  
* * *  
  
"You have gotten yourself into a state. Again. What are we going to do with you?"  
  
I sat up. That voice. I recognised it. Spinning around, amazed at the lack of blood everywhere. Who was speaking? The whole surrounding was white, bright white light.  
  
"Over here"  
  
I span to face it and there she was. In a blaze of fire and red. Din. Come to help me it seemed. She was beautiful as before and her hair the colour of flames drifted in an invisible breeze.  
  
"Din?"  
  
"That's me" she said and smiled "You've let them out then?"  
  
"Well..."  
  
Din sighed and said "And you've also given that poor boy a soul"  
  
I started "What?"  
  
"The thing down there you were just with? Dark Link? You've given him a soul, sort of. It's complicated" she paused "You made him feel something other than hate"  
  
"You can feel him?" I asked  
  
"Of course, everything is connected with me and my sisters" she replied smiling  
  
"Oh" I said "What...did I do to him?"  
  
"The hero of time got married didn't he?"  
  
"Well..."  
  
"So he doesn't have the ability to love you anymore in the way that you wanted" I blushed "So it got passed to Dark Link, even if he didn't know it. And when he killed you, it somehow got...ignited, so to speak and bang! There you have it. The loyal servant of Gannondorf, born and bred to kill the Hero of Time and be ruthless to all forms of life great and small and feel nothing was suddenly in love. And in a dilemma it seems"  
  
"A dilemma?"  
  
"Kill you and serve his master? Or not kill you and face death of disobedience"  
  
Din looked at me and said "It seems not five minutes ago you were 14...young, saving Hyrule. And now you're here. To save Termina. And yet you're the one who needs saving" she hesitated (as if goddesses hesitate!) "Do you love him?"  
  
"Love who?"  
  
"Dark Link of course"  
  
"NO"  
  
"Why not?"  
  
"He's evil...and just...killed me" I replied, unsure suddenly. That coldness had been him, I felt sorry for him. And then the hot feeling, was it love? His love for me I had felt?  
  
"People change" Din sighed "You ought to know that. He may not be human, but his feelings are human. He's feeling them alright. I can feel his grief and rage from here"  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"Killing the love of your life?" Din stopped, as if listening "He's going to give hell for that"  
  
"To who?"  
  
"Everyone" Din replied "And the Hero of Time will give as good as he gets I expect"  
  
"What can I do?" I was confused, all this from a goddess and I was dead, wasn't I? "I'm dead"  
  
"Not yet, there's a heartbeat still in your chest. You will be dead in a few moments though. So get back to your body or something and tell Dark Link to stop the gate opening!"  
  
"WHAT?" it was all happening so fast  
  
"You go unconscious, you open a gate everywhere, yes?" Din looked exasperated I was so slow at figuring out things  
  
"Yes"  
  
"So go get him to keep you awake"  
  
"Oh"  
  
The light faded and I heard the last comment of Din was "All he wants is to be Link now"  
  
* * *  
  
I awoke out of the light with a cough and watery splutter. Copper in my mouth, choking me and I somehow made the move to clamp my hand around the wound in my neck.   
  
"DARK LINK" I gurgled as loud as I could, My entire body seemed numb and I was dizzy from blood loss, I coughed and half drowned for a moment in the copper taste  
  
I suddenly felt a hand around me and a bundle of cloth was wrapped around the hand clamped around my neck.  
  
"You're still alive" I heard Link but knew it was his other self, I struggled to focus on him  
  
I tried to speak again but my mouth only gurgled, obviously the down point of being stabbed in the neck. I felt like I was drowning, my lungs being cut off by the warm liquid.  
  
He mopped my mouth and held my neck tighter.  
  
"I thought you were dead" he said  
  
Yeah well.  
  
No.  
  
He obviously wasn't looking to the fact that I was dying and that he had to keep me awake. And I couldn't tell him, could I? Wait. When he'd gotten into my head, I was unconscious, could I let him in now?  
  
Could I let him in?  
  
~Dark Link~ I thought hard ~can you hear me?~  
  
He stopped jabbering for a moment and stopped.  
  
That had caught his attention.  
  
~Listen, you need to keep me awake~ I told him as hard as I could think  
  
"You-you're in my head..." he replied out loud  
  
~yes but not for long if you don't keep me awake with something useful~  
  
~oh~ he'd gotten the hang of it, surprisingly, I'd have thought since he'd invaded so many times he's understand mind speaking or whatever ~hang tight then~  
  
I have to admit his thinking voice was cute. But here I was...dying...  
  
My eyes began to close and I jolted awake as he shook me quite hard. He started going on at me about how I was supposed to be dying to let his master out. But his heart wasn't in it. Was Din right? He seemed to be genuinely frantic.  
  
For a moment I thought I had an out of body experience and I saw myself, blood all over the lighted platform and being cradled and shook and bullied and cajoled awake by this man who had stabbed me in the first place.  
  
How strange.  
  
He had been right. Fate did work in mysterious ways.  
  
And Din had returned to help me, but not as actively as she had before, did she think as I was older I could do more now? In the past she'd inhabited Lucy and fought off Reika and sealed her away. Now she was just watching.  
  
Dark Link had a soul? Almost, close to it, he'd never be human truly but was he a Pinocchio with emotions? Perhaps.  
  
Considering I was dying my head seemed to be spinning with all these thoughts that seemed to intellectual for death. Or maybe you finally know everything as you die.  
  
In any case I couldn't feel my legs.  
  
So tired...  
  
No, can't go to sleep.  
  
Can't.  
  
Shaken again, more words were jabbered at me. I couldn't even hear them properly now. Din's faith in me was misplaced, Link would have to save the day again. I'd probably lost most of my blood now, how much more would it take?  
  
Pain.  
  
Strange, I couldn't feel it before.  
  
And yet no pain. Mental pain maybe. But my body was feeling strange. Light. I felt like I did when I'd been saved from the bomb-chu.  
  
Suddenly I could see again.  
  
Dark Link was over me like he had been, looking hysterical, and his eyes were closed.   
  
I didn't feel so light headed.  
  
As I looked up at him I realised he was healing me.  
  
Why?  
  
He was disobeying his masters! He said he couldn't do that, so why was he? I was beginning to feel my legs again, and my fingers were wriggling when I told them too. I still couldn't talk but if I had perhaps it would have broken his concentration.  
  
And every moment I felt better, the light on the floor around me dimmed. The gateway was closing!  
  
Dark Link opened his eyes and looked straight down at me, his eyes were glazed.  
  
It had been his pain coming through to me?  
  
He smiled hesitantly and then dropped me suddenly has he pressed his hands to his neck. Horrifyingly blood began to seep through his fingers. I sat up quickly (amazed that I could move but that was overshadowed by this other event) and grabbed Dark Link's shoulders.  
  
"What's wrong?" I said, for some reason terrified  
  
Dark Link smiled, I could see the beads of sweat appearing on his forehead as he replied "Don't worry"  
  
"No! Tell me"  
  
Dark Link shuddered and fell against me, once again dying my clothes blood red and he went limp. I grabbed his neck with one hand, feeling the coppery liquid pulse against my palm like it had before, I held him against me to try and keep pressure on the wound.  
  
He wasn't human. Why was he bleeding?  
  
As if reading my mind he gasped "I couldn't...save...you..."  
  
"What? No, look, I'm here" I said exasperated, what was he talking about?  
  
"So I transferred it to me" he managed  
  
* * *  
  
So, that's the first part of the ending! Sorry it's so rushed, I'm in the middle of exam period. Read, review and be happy all! 


	18. The Last Third: Part II

New chapter! Next part of the end you lucky things! And I left you at quite a cliff hangar! Woo! Thanks for reviewing! I'm glad the last chapter went down so well! Oh dear, nearly at the end! Don't worry though! It's not over yet!  
  
Yeah if you're worried about Dark Link then...you should be! I'm not quite sure how he's going to finish but you never know, do you?  
  
God, you are so going to hate me for this chapter, but all I can tell you is although this chapter might be...er...well, this chapter might be a HORRIBLE way to go but you don't know what I'm planning to do so there! So if it is awful, don't fret too much because I'm planning something special...sort of.  
  
I also just noticed that I haven't included a BIG final fight off in this chapter...what do I do? I ought to have one.  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Zelda!  
  
* * *  
  
I stared at him. He'd taken my wound into himself to save me. And now he was dying. He had been given my wound. That explained it. I watched in amazement as the black eye Sao had given me sprang up on Dark Link's cheek and the grazes appeared on his hands from climbing the mountain.  
  
"Why?" I gasped, starting to cry again, this was too much "WHY DID YOU DO THAT!? TELL ME!"  
  
He looked surprised as I shook him to get his attention, he looked at me with his bright blue eyes, not so cold anymore, or was that just me? But it seemed like the one who had stabbed me at Sao's camp was gone. Replaced by someone else. Or maybe just changed a little.  
  
"I thought you knew" he whispered, coughing on the blood, and then grinned "As if my final words to you were vague!"  
  
I bit my lip.  
  
"I love you" he said simply  
  
And I felt something melt in me as I looked down at him. It occurred to me that maybe this was because he looked like Link and that's why I was looking at him like I was. But then I thought hard for a moment and realised maybe that it had been that before but things were different. That warmth and then the coldness that he had given through me before he had stabbed me had stayed with me.  
  
I had liked that warmth. Maybe Link could have given me that once but Dark Link was the one who could now, and it didn't make a difference whether it was a recycled feeling.  
  
Did I love him? It was hard to say. But I think that maybe I did, or was beginning to. In real life they say fairy tale endings don't exist. This certainly wasn't a happy ending, but as they say in plays 'it is better to have loved and lost than never loved at all'.  
  
And I was looking down at this man, who kidnapped my friends and killed me...well...more than once in reality and yet I could feel no hatred towards him now. He was lying here, covering me with his blood, staining over what had been my blood, and looking up at me hopefully.   
  
As I said before. I felt something. Was it love? That small feeling like a candle inside of you, when you just know?  
  
He smiled again, and it was so kind and warmth, replacing completely the old one tinged with coldness and a black heart. He had changed.  
  
And I smiled back.  
  
I brushed his hair away from his face and said calmly, "Don't die on me"  
  
His eyes widened for a moment, shaking off the glazed look, and then he shuddered again and went limp, struggling to keep himself awake.  
  
I wiped my eyes and held him up into my lap.   
  
When would the others get here? I needed a blue potion at least. Would they even let me have one.  
  
"Don't die" I found myself saying, my eyes streaming, my nose sniffling "Don't you even think about dying on me"  
  
The blood drying stank and I could taste it in my mouth mixed in with the salt water from my tears. All over and around us was a gory mess, like a horror movie.   
  
"Hey!" I screamed out, half at him, half to the corridors leading into this mammoth hall  
  
He was closing his eyes.  
  
"No" I said, shaking him awake, then turning to the corridors, "HELP ME! PLEASE! SOMEONE HELP ME!"  
  
No reply. Why would they come and save him? They wanted him dead.  
  
"PLEASE!...someone"   
  
Dark Link's blood still ran and his body weighed heavy on me.  
  
It took him a long time to die.  
  
And still no one came.  
  
"Dark Link!!" I shook him one last time and he opened his eyes a tiny way, "Please don't leave me"  
  
Did I love him now?  
  
I believe I did.  
  
He smiled faintly and began to close his eyes. How could he die? Was Link dying somewhere?  
  
"No!" I shook him again, and once more he opened his eyes "Dark Link listen to me, I..."  
  
He wasn't listening, I yelled down at him suddenly "LISTEN TO ME, FOR GOD'S SAKE! I LOVE YOU LINK"  
  
And then, as soon as I'd said it, a thought flashed through me like lightening:  
  
~you called me Link~  
  
I felt more tears drip from my eyes and I said quietly "Yes..."  
  
With a huge effort he lifted his hand to my face, and like many movie heroines before me, I held it there with my fingers, he smiled and I heard:  
  
~thank you...I was always...alone~  
  
And he was gone.  
  
All he wanted was to be Link.  
  
His fingers dropped from my face, laving a trail of crimson. He was gone. I peeled my fingers from his neck.  
  
I pulled his body up to me held it furiously, sobbing and choking into his lifeless shoulder. Rocking back and forth, praying that he hadn't really gone and he'd wake up in a moment. But he didn't. We sat there for what seemed like forever, caked in dry blood, his and mine, like we had mixed our blood for a blood pact. And in a way we had.  
  
We'd confessed love. Wasn't that a pact in itself?  
  
Tragic ending.  
  
I felt numb like before, but it was because he'd been ripped away from me, the moment I'd realised that I'd loved him, he'd been ripped away. All he'd wanted was to be called Link. I'd fulfilled that dream I guess. But he'd left me.  
  
I held his body forever, I couldn't say goodbye, not yet. It was too soon, I'd barely known him. Yet he had been Link. I'd known Link, so I knew this guy too. That gave little comfort.  
  
I ought to say a few words. He was dead after all. Like a final passing rite or something. But I didn't know the words apart from 'ashes to ashes, dust to dust' and that didn't seem right now.  
  
So I sat there, holding the shell that had been Dark Link.  
  
I suddenly felt very sick. Sick to my stomach in fact, the smell had begun to take effect on my insides it seemed and I stumbled up and away from his body to the side of the platform, throwing up noisily.   
  
This is my usual reaction in these situations.  
  
I wiped my mouth and looked over to his body, now my body was starting to be affected about what I'd seen the sight of Dark Link drenched and lying in a pool or blood affected me. And the fact that I was covered in drying blood also didn't help. I held the side of the platform to keep myself steady.  
  
I shakily crawled back to him and lifted his body. Noticing the knife that he had stabbed me with close by, I picked it up and then threw it back down.  
  
"Come on" I whispered, as if he might hear me "There's nothing more to do here"  
  
I struggled to lift his body up with me, but fell back down with it. He was heavier than he looked.  
  
I sat next to him and sniffed, it happened to me, all this bad luck. Maybe I worried to much and it was attracted to me.  
  
I didn't know what to do. I sniffed again and burst into tears again. I lay down next to Dark Link's body and put my arm across him. Aware of the mess I was lying in and what I must look like. But I was lost, I didn't know what to do.  
  
So I just lay next to him, sort of embracing him with my arm. Waiting. For what I wasn't sure until I heard a yell:  
  
"Hey!"  
  
I didn't move, my head was obviously playing tricks on me. I shoved my face into Dark Link's tunic and cried silently.   
  
A hand grabbed my shoulder and roughly turned me over, I stared up at...Dark Link?  
  
He looked at me in horror and put a hand up to his mouth, blanching for a moment at what must have been a gory mess, and then pulled me up.  
  
Not Dark Link then...just Link.   
  
I let myself be picked up and I sat in his arms limply, looking down at Dark Link's body. Why wasn't Link dead? Dark Link had said that they would die when one of them did.  
  
I realised he was talking to me "...so you killed him after all, let's go then"  
  
I struggled against him suddenly yelling "Let me go, let me go!"  
  
"What?" he said surprised, "Come on~ we need to find Sao's tribe"  
  
"No" I screeched, obviously hysterical (strange how being stabbed and seeing people die can do that to you) even I knew I was being hysterical, but I still pulled and tried to pull away from him "WE CAN'T LEAVE HIM!"  
  
"Who?" Link asked finally giving up and putting me down after nearly having his eyes poked out   
  
I pushed him away and pulled at Dark Link's body, sobbing and heaving to pull him up with me "We can't leave him alone again!"  
  
Link looked at me incredulously "Him?"  
  
I wiped my mouth and said "I can't leave him"  
  
Link came over and grabbed my arms "No, we're leaving, come on!"  
  
I pulled back a fist and planted a fist straight on Link's cheek. He grabbed my arms and held them tightly as I fought to get away. I wore myself out trying to hit him and then fell silent, grabbing instead Link's own, bloodless, tunic and wetting it with tears of frustration.  
  
"I see"  
  
Link tipped my head back and stroked my cheek "Your black eye is..." he looked at Dark Link's body and sighed  
  
I bit my lip and got out "He..."  
  
"I understand now" Link replied, he let go of me and my legs collapsed on the floor  
  
He moved to Dark Link's body and picked up the knife I'd thrown down examining the rust colour dyed onto it. I thought he was going to do something to Dark Link, like scalp him or something, but Link tucked the knife into his belt and began to pull up Dark Link's body into his arms.  
  
I stared as Link pulled up the body and lay it across his shoulders.  
  
"Come on" he said, he face expressionless, offering down a hand to me on the floor "We still have a job to do"  
  
I took the proffered hand and let him pull me up. Following him out of the huge room where Dark Link had saved and killed, bearing the weight of his other easily.  
  
* * *  
  
We travelled through a tunnel to where I could hear shouts ahead, it seemed the prisoners were escaping and the Stalfos weren't standing for it. As we drew nearer the clash of metal echoed through our tunnel and I felt the floor shake beneath my feet with the noise.  
  
"Stay close" Link warned, the weight of Dark Link's body evident in his voice  
  
I heard a voice clearly through the jumble yell clearly for 'no prisoners to be taken', most certainly Sao's. I smiled wryly, he seemed to be in control. I hoped all the tribe were safe and in one piece.  
  
We came out into a large hall, not as big as the one where Dark Link had tried to summon Gannondorf and Reika, but certainly big. And on the far side, as we came out the tunnel we could see what was left over of the tribe fighting out. Stalfos bones everywhere and, luckily, not a dead human to be seen.  
  
Lucy was still safe then. Looking at Link he seemed to be thinking the same thing as he let out a sigh, which sounded like one of relief.  
  
Once again I wondered why he wasn't dead.  
  
I felt tears build as I thought of Dark Link but pushed them away, now wasn't the time to be sad, we needed to get out of here.  
  
We followed the noise into one of the tunnels ahead, speeding up now as we came closer, desperate to get out of this maze of tunnels that we had all been lead into, some forced, some because we had to.  
  
I was amazed that Link had begun to run in his speeding up, with Dark Link across his shoulders, it was amazing, even I had trouble keeping up and I was carrying nothing.  
  
A speck of light appeared out in front and in the distance, getting bigger and bigger as we drew nearer, the air clearing as the hot oxygen pulsed in from the outside.  
  
Despite all that had happened, this light, natural light, filled me with joy and I rush to meet it with all my strength.   
  
Suddenly getting stitch, I slowed to breathe and Link slowed with me and we walked the rest of the short distance to the surface, vaguely feeling the land beneath us rise minutely.   
  
A few steps away from where light hit the rock of the floor in the tunnel I stopped, listening to the rowdy congratulations and laughs from outside.  
  
Link turned back to me, edged in light, and said, "What's the matter?"  
  
I didn't reply.  
  
"Do you think they'll hate you?" he asked softly  
  
Outside, my heart stopped beating momentarily as the noise went silent as the tribe outside (and hopefully Lucy) stopped to listen to noises from inside the cave. We had to go out or they'd come in to check it out. They were making sure we weren't enemies.  
  
I took a deep breath and took a step forward.  
  
Link stretched out his hand and grabbed mine reassuringly. It didn't matter how old he was, or how many children he had, I knew then for certain how close a friend he had been and would always be, even if we did have long periods of not seeing each other.  
  
And we walked into the blinding light.  
  
As my eyes cleared the first thing I saw was a mass of men, Sao's tribe and out in front, just staring were Lucy, Kafei and Sao.  
  
I stopped and looked at the ground, smiling uncertainly.  
  
I imagined what we would have looked like, a body drenched in blood, a girl drenched in blood and Link, holding the burden and a girls hand. No wonder half of them looked ready to throw up.  
  
"Well" Link said loudly "Looks like you got them all out"  
  
In a moment the huge bulk, no less diminished or proud by the experience that had happened, of Shigeru waded through the mass ahead. He looked the same, but carried rough bruises on his face where he'd been punched and he was dirty. His smile was no less white however as he came out to the front.  
  
He looked me up and down, showing none of the nausea other members of the group seemed to be showing.  
  
Link moved away from me and out to the gap of around 20 feet between them and us, and he lay down Dark Link's body on the canyon's floor. Shigeru regarded the body with a passive face, emotionless.  
  
He looked at the body, up to me, and back to the body again. His eyes held mine for a moment and I didn't turn away, he was saying that he knew exactly what had happened in there, I'm not sure how he did, but then he'd known the whole story about the war with Reika and so maybe he knew this too. In a flash of realisation I realised he was a seer.  
  
My jaw dropped and his face broke out into a wide smile, Shigeru nodded slowly and then moved to Dark Link's body. He stood over it and for a moment I thought he was going to mutilate it or something for all the damage it had done to his tribe, but, instead, he bowed his head as if in prayer and then moved away.  
  
The tribe copied him...even Sao, albeit grudgingly.  
  
"We have sent him on his way to the plain of the dead" Shigeru said  
  
My knees suddenly felt weak and I dropped to the floor, the days events sinking in, a pair of feet came into view and Shigeru knelt down in front of me and grasped my hands, holding them firmly but gently.  
  
"You have, in one way won another battle" he said softly, and then he reached up and ran his fingers over Dark Link's dried blood fingerprints that ran across my cheek "But, it seems you have lost another" he stood and pulled my up to my feet again, supporting me with one arm "Come" he announced so all could hear "We travel back to Clock Town to drop off our heroes who rescued us"  
  
"I'm glad someone rescued you" I muttered  
  
"Sao, Lucy, Kafei and Link, the Hero of Time and King of Hyrule and yes" he looked at me "Even you, have saved us all from death. We are forever in your debt"  
  
"I've heard that before but you never pay up" Link replied and this was greeted by a series of laughs  
  
It seemed everyone was beginning to relax and for the first time since the camp had been attacked there was an air of contentment. That the course of evil had been averted once more.  
  
Pretty easily it seemed.  
  
Maybe too easy.  
  
But I shoved that thought away.  
  
"So, we travel back to the centre of Termina" Shigeru announced, "Let's go, if we start now we might be there in a day or so"  
  
A day or so? I'd forgotten how long it had taken us to get here.  
  
So the tribe began to move off on foot, I could see Lucy and the others bobbing ahead but I didn't feel like facing them now. So I drew up the rear of the column along with Sao. A huge man had taken on the burden of Dark Link's body, and I was glad to see that he didn't stray too far from me and I could keep an eye on his body.  
  
I also think that people were keeping a distance away because I smelled. In the hot sun, the smell that had been bad before got worse, I couldn't smell it now as I used to it, but the dried blood all over seemed to be causing others discomfort, so I lagged back even further.  
  
"Hey" Link slowed down from the others and matched my place, he had a few stains across the shoulders of his tunic but that was the only damage  
  
We walked in silence for a while. I don't think either of us knew quite what to say.  
  
But then Link said calmly "You must wonder why I'm not dead"  
  
I nodded; I had been wondering that for a while, ever since he'd come to get me in the hall "Yeah"  
  
"Well, I'm not sure but I...got a visit from Dark Link"   
  
I stared at him "What?"  
  
"Yeah. I'm not sure how he did it but he was suddenly in me and I was looking through his eyes up at you and...I felt what he felt" Link said quietly "And I then knew I had to come and find you no matter what because if I didn't it would be something cruel"  
  
"But he said when one of you died you both died" I said "Before he stabbed me, he said you would die when he died"  
  
"I think he found a loop hole though. I think he found a loop hole that you only die together when one kills the other one" Link said after a moment of thought on the subject "So if we were fighting to the death and I killed him then I would die too. But then, ancient writings have never been clear on that, it's all down to interpretation, it may be that when one dies only a part of the other dies. I'm not sure, the goddesses work in mysterious ways"  
  
"What did the others say?"  
  
"About what? Me going off to find you?"  
  
"Yeah"  
  
"Well Lucy and Kafei were like 'go ahead', they really wanted me to go, but Sao was pretty angry at you. No idea why he was THAT angry when even I wasn't THAT angry, although it did hurt for a while"  
  
"Oh"  
  
Link grinned and said "But I thought you were both dead when I saw you both drenched in blood" he paused "That was a nasty sight. Even worse than the war in Hyrule and that was pretty horrific. It's even more horrific though when it's people you know"  
  
"You knew Dark Link well?"  
  
"Yeah, sure" Link grinned "In a weird, round about way, no one wants to see themselves die, let's put it like that" he continued "Anyway, he was a part of me (even if he was an evil one) and even if I did hate him, it would hurt me if he went. And he has" he was silent a moment "So now I feel a little...empty...but what about you?"  
  
"Me?" I asked, looking at him  
  
"You were crying over him"  
  
"Yes"  
  
"Why?" he asked  
  
I shrugged and then said, "You were in him, you tell me"  
  
Link smiled again, but it was more of a secret smile than his first smile, and then said "The others" he motioned ahead "Think you killed him"  
  
I looked at the floor "I guess they would, there was no one else there and he WAS evil, and the one who was dead"  
  
"Will you ever tell anyone the truth?"  
  
"You know the truth, that's enough" I replied, "Maybe I'll tell someone else one day, maybe I won't. I will when it" I put my hand on my chest "Stops hurting here"  
  
I felt my eyes fill up again for a moment and Link reached out and put his arm around me, not seeming to notice the blood.  
  
"It'll never stop hurting" he said quietly "It won't, but after a while you won't notice it so much, and even further after that you'll be able to forget about. Yet it'll always be there I'm afraid"  
  
"I know" I replied, sniffing, managing not to cry "I don't really want to forget either"  
  
"Come on" Link said after a moment "Chin up, life goes on as they say"  
  
We walked in the hot sun for a moment, I noticed Lucy glance back at me and I flashed her a grin, she smiled and then walked on.  
  
A question suddenly hit me.  
  
"Link, what happens to you when you die?"  
  
Link looked at me strangely and then said "Well, we believe that you go to another world"  
  
"Another world?"  
  
"Yeah, not a heaven, just another plain, then you go to heaven after that life" he said "So your spirit can learn from it's mistakes so to speak"  
  
"So Dark Link has gone to another world?"  
  
"Yeah"  
  
"I hope he's happy"  
  
"Yeah. I hated him up until when I was in him, I hope he will be happy, I hope he changes and becomes a better person"  
  
"Me too"  
  
* * *  
  
Sao found me at the edge of the camp when we stopped to rest for the night after hours of walking. Somehow the distance seemed larger when we had been above the canyon.  
  
He came and sat a couple of metres away, looking out into the shadows beyond the ring of light, not speaking. I felt uncomfortable, I'm sure he did too. The night air was cool and apart from the occasional insect buzzing, peaceful too.  
  
I wasn't going to say anything, I was going to wait for him to say something. He had come to talk, that was obvious, otherwise he'd be far away from me, who still smelled like a rotting corpse.  
  
"You betrayed us"  
  
I looked over at him, his back to my, surprised that that would be the first thing he would say and yet not surprised that it was.  
  
"Did not" I replied, trying to keep my voice steady  
  
"Link told me what happened and so maybe I'll believe that" Sao replied, still not looking at me "I think it would be impossible to believe you betrayed us when HIS body lies over there"  
  
He was silent a moment.  
  
"I was angry at you"  
  
"I noticed"  
  
"Shall I tell you something?" he paused "Dark Link killed my wife and child"  
  
I felt my gut twist at that, so no wonder he had been adamant about killing Dark Link. I felt awful yet not so awful I was guilty about telling Dark Link I loved him. By the time he died Dark Link had changed for the better, he wasn't the same as when he had killed Sao's family. It was horrible though, I felt sad for him and bit my lip.  
  
"I'm sorry" I said quietly  
  
"Yeah, well it won't bring them back" Sao said bitterly "We'd been married just over a year and a half, I was getting used to it. We had an arranged marriage you see. And what we didn't tell you when we brought you to our camp was that they had been travelling with us"  
  
I suddenly felt sad, a very great sadness washed over me.  
  
"We never usually bring women on our trading trips" Sao continued "But I insisted, they wanted to come and see the world beyond the village. So we let them, it was great, so much fun. I enjoyed it, and I'm so happy our last days together were so joyous"  
  
Behind us the camp was settling down for the night, we could hear the murmurs gradually died, and in the back of my head I wondered whether Link, Kafei and Lucy were sleeping yet.  
  
"When Dark Link attacked with his Stalfos and Moblins and who know what else, and he told us to bring the seer to Termina for him or else, he wanted to make sure we did it. So he took an example"  
  
I closed my eyes to try and stop my head from imagining it.  
  
"My wife and child were picked out and killed, he ran them through in front of us all and then while they were lying there dying he cut off their heads. In a way I'm glad he did that so it ended their suffering, now that I look back on it anyway. He didn't leave them dying for so long. Yet it killed me seeing that. And for days I was in a silent stupor, unable to understand anything, dazed I suppose. And who wouldn't be? The tribe was so patient with me, Shigeru most of all, did I tell you he was my father?"  
  
"I may have guessed"  
  
"And the rest of the story you know don't you?" Sao said, still not looking at me, his shoulders were slumped  
  
So that was his story, I felt so sad for him, for his family, dying so young. In front of him and all. It was tragic, no wonder he had wanted revenge. It all seemed so clear to me now, no wonder he had hated Dark Link. I would too.  
  
We sat there for a moment without talking. I didn't really know what to say, I couldn't take away his pain with a few words. I couldn't apologise for 'betraying' him because I hadn't really felt like I had been 'betraying' him. And I couldn't apologise for Dark Link either.  
  
The camp was quiet except for a few snores here and there. It seemed like they'd all fallen asleep and we'd been left awake in our own little bubble.  
  
I got up and went over quietly to Sao, and, carefully, not wanting to make him jump, I knelt down behind him and slipped my arms around his shoulders. He jumped and I felt him tense up, and then he relaxed. I felt like that somehow made things a little better between us. I'm not sure if he forgave me or whether I needed forgiving, but I felt like he'd been bottling all this and the story up for a while, and that's not good for anyone.  
  
So we stayed like that for a while, quiet, each in our thoughts but in a strange sort of at-arm's-length embrace.  
  
* * *  
  
How was that chapter? I'm really sorry, I've probably killed you all with the crap way I write sad parts and emotions. You're all about to kill me as well aren't you for killing Dark Link, he made me do it! Not the other way around! Oh well, anyway, I'm going to give you a surprise for just reading this chapter, I'm not going to tell you what it is but I HOPE you won't be disappointed. It'll be special for DL fans especially. 


	19. The Last Third: Part III

MY CHAPTER GOT WIPED! I had written chapter 19 and then I pressed delete then save by accident and it was gone! How the f*** that happened I DO NOT KNOW! But it's gone, so if this chapter sucks, blame the computer -_-'  
  
Anyway here's the new chapter, we're VERY near the end and you're already making guesses at the ending, well I'm not telling! Ha!  
  
Anyway I've been on Holiday and stuff and exams so please forgive me for the wait!  
  
Thanks for your reviews everyone, it heartens me to get reviews, thanks for taking the time to write them! Natalie thanks for your very...um...LONG review : D I was hoping no one would notice the plot holes -_-' You think way to hard, even I don't really know how I'm working things ^^;;; although I'm sort of heading along the lines of 'while both links are in a realm, which ever it may be, of living, they will both be alive' or something. Maybe we ought to leave it as a plot hole -_-'  
  
Anyway, last chapter so let's tie things up a bit! We're nearly ending ;_;  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Zelda  
  
* * *  
  
We travelled on to Clock Town the next day, and the day after that. Although it was clear we'd beaten the enemy...granted in a bizarre fashion that didn't make me feel like we'd won at all, and the snow was melting, people didn't feel comfortable talking to me.  
  
I didn't really blame them, after all Link had come out holding the body of Dark Link across his shoulders and I had been covered in his blood. Still was, I was also smelling awfully bad. So Link and I had been made to walk downwind of the rest of the group. Hardly surprising that no one would want to talk to me. I tried to tell myself this was the only reason, but I'm not sure it was.  
  
Lucy and Kafei even kept away from me, which got me upset. Although I had never really talked to Kafei before we got so tragically ripped apart, I was still a little put out he wasn't even speaking to me after all the trouble I'd gone through to rescue him. And with Anju pregnant too! He could show a little more gratitude.  
  
Link and I, in our own group, didn't talk much. We didn't feel there was much to say, so we mostly spent the day in silence.  
  
After my talk with Sao, it took two days to reach Clock Town, the snow obviously melting although the clouds still hung over the landscape, a promise of the coming winter. The temperature rose for a while however and the day seemed to cheer as we came through the field up towards the huge walls of the town.  
  
My adventure was ending once more.  
  
And it felt really like I hadn't gained anything, I felt more as though something was missing.  
  
I looked over my shoulder to where two men were carrying the body of Dark Link, he looked strangely peaceful, being carried like that. It was hard to look at him like that and realise he wasn't going to wake up, although the blood I was drenched in and that he was covered in helped bring it home.   
  
A little while later when we drew through the gates of Clock Town and emerged, with good luck, in the quarter across from the inn, no one seemed to care that Kafei pushed through the crowd to reach the inn ahead of us. I smiled as I saw the door pushed open and slammed shut in his haste to see his wife.  
  
While the tribe walked ahead to the inn, I assumed they were going to stay there till they could find some transportation home, wagons or something, I stopped and looked up at the clock that had given this town it's name. It was large. Very, I hadn't really noticed under its blanket of snow.  
  
Stopping, I looked up at it, maybe I was stalling to let the tribe go ahead of me, Link looked back at me, shrugged and went on to the inn. I didn't mind him going, he had preparations for our journey back to see to so I wasn't really bothered about him going to get organised. I actually was beginning to want to go home. I think I felt that I couldn't really show grief or weakness at the moment.  
  
Someone stopped next to me, and, glancing to my side I was surprised to see that Sao was also looking up at the clock. His jet-black hair glistening in the sun after melting icicles dripped on him. I looked at the inn where he had thrown soup all over me and grinned.  
  
"Seems like an age ago doesn't it"   
  
I looked at Sao and said, "Yeah, well, maybe it doesn't feel that long ago, because the soup was boiling hot after all"   
  
Sao looked at me, it seemed he was thinking hard about something. Then, surprisingly, he lifted his palm and ran his thumb over my cheekbone. I stood still, watching his expression, he seemed confused, but his face cleared as he drew his hand away again.  
  
"I saw Shadow Man's body" Sao said quietly "Underneath the blood I thought I glimpsed something familiar. It runs out he bore the black eye that I had given you" He paused, biting his lip "You didn't kill him, did you?"  
  
"Well...I..."  
  
"I know what I see" he said, not unkindly "Forget it" he looked at me again and smiled softly "What's done is done, and now we are safe"  
  
I was going to say something but he strode off towards the inn purposely and I was left alone in the courtyard once more. I took another look at the clock and went after him.  
  
* * *  
  
Anju had had a healthy baby girl while we were gone, the small bundle only a few days old was still wrinkled. But slept peacefully. Anju hadn't given it a name, she'd been hopeful Kafei would return to name the child.   
  
Anju herself was in bed and after a tearful reunion she had felt strong enough to berate Sao for beating on women on which Link swiftly picked up who he had beaten and also had a go at him. Yet it was all in good faith.  
  
I hadn't actually been present for this though, I was told about it later. For the moment I had entered the inn I'd been shoved into a room, stripped of my clothes and tipped into a bath of steaming water. Apparently people had been complaining about the smell already.  
  
I heard a maid commenting as she carried my clothes at arms length; "Well they really let anybody stay here don't they? Butchers and all"  
  
I giggled and sank down into my bath, which was in a huge communal one for the women staying/working at the inn, trying to pull a wooden comb that had been left through my blood-clotted hair. I gave up, I sighed as the warm bath loosened up all my muscles that hadn't like sleeping on the ground for so many nights.  
  
I heard the door to the bathroom open and Lucy poked her head around nervously. I automatically sank down further into the bath, still not over the embarrassment teenagers get with the age.  
  
"Can I come in?" Lucy asked quietly  
  
"Sure" I smiled and stretched my toes in the bath  
  
Lucy came through the door wrapped in a large fluffy towel and then, while I looked away, sank into the bath. Faintly as the door swung shut behind her I heard a roar of laughter coming from the men's side of the bath which I took to be the men of the tribe taking their time in the bath also.  
  
I heard Lucy suck in her breath as she got into the bath and then said "So, you haven't been talking to me"  
  
Lucy went red, although I couldn't tell whether it was from the hot water or embarrassment "Well...you see"  
  
I started to try the comb in my hair again, wincing as a knot pulled.  
  
"I wasn't sure whether I wanted to talk to you" she said, rubbing her face with soap "You see, we got attacked and I saw you dead, I swore you were dead. So when you turned up again I wasn't sure whether you were just my imagination, and then when you...kissed Link and Sao went on about the betrayal of it and everything I sort of...thought, well you would never do that at home and so it couldn't have been you. But now I understand it wasn't you really. And then you came out with Link and a body and covered in blood it just sort of...sent me into shock. That it had been really you and that I hadn't believed you or been a good friend or anything. And that you'd killed someone too!"  
  
I kept quiet.  
  
"I wasn't ready to talk to someone that I thought was dead, a betrayer, a killer or something. But I understand now what happened and why you killed him, not that he did deserve to be killed or anything...but...I'd like you to forgive me"  
  
I sank further into the water and said "Why not? It was just a misunderstanding"  
  
"Really?" Lucy broke into a very wide grin of relief and sank down also, gasping as the hot water reached her chin "I'm glad..."  
  
"Me too"  
  
We sat in silence for a moment in the steaming water, the wooden walls vibrating with the sound of the apparent glee of the men's side at getting a bath after so long. I couldn't help but smile, they sounded like they were water fighting, and they were all too old for that really.  
  
I thought back on the fact that Link was 30 and married to Zelda again. And, with a brief moment of enlightenment I realised that I didn't mind. I was happy for them, Link wasn't my Knight in Shining Armour apparently anymore. Perhaps it was because for a brief moment I had loved someone else entirely, I didn't really know. And I didn't care.  
  
I was happy for Link and Zelda, and their sons were the image of cuteness when I had met them.  
  
I grinned.  
  
"What are you so happy about?" Lucy asked, rinsing her hair with clean water  
  
"Nothing" I said, still grinning "I'm just happy everything's working out"  
  
"Yeah" Lucy smiled and then said, "When will we go home?"  
  
"Well we'll have to go back to Hyrule first and we'll probably leave tomorrow for there. And then for home...day after probably. Link's probably wanting to see his family anyway"  
  
"Yeah"  
  
"I'm looking forward to my own bed" I said stretching "I can't wait!"  
  
"Me neither. And pizza!"  
  
"Chocolate"  
  
"Broccoli!"  
  
"Eww"   
  
* * *  
  
And it seemed our prediction was correct, the next morning after a GREAT night's sleep Link came and got us out of bed mid morning and said "Come on! Breakfast"  
  
Lucy mumbled something about swimming and turned over. I on the other hand leapt out of bed and pulled wide the curtains, in typical musical style and burst into a chorus of 'The Hills Are Alive With The Sound Of Music' to which Link promptly left and Lucy bolted upright with a yell of "Kill the banshee!"  
  
We got up, washed in a bowl of warm water and dressed into new clothes Anju had lent us, not what we were used to, skirts and shirts made of a weird material that she informed us was 'cow mat'. I didn't really want to enquire further.  
  
Breakfast was wonderful, to thank us for bringing Kafei back to her, she'd prepared a huge amount of food for all of us, all the tribe were sitting at the table when we arrived along with Link, Kafei and also Anju bustling about filling glasses with juice.  
  
It was great, what a breakfast to fill up on, everything you can imagine eating for breakfast as well as things I had never seen before. She'd really pulled out the stops on it. The baby was in a cradle on the floor next to Kafei was distractedly rocking it with a foot and talking to Link about the Anju in Hyrule, with which Anju from Termina swiped at him with a tea towel and carried on.  
  
After breakfast Link passed on to me and Lucy bags full of what seemed to be from our original inn room that Link had smashed up, or what remained of it. Most of the stuff we'd packed was still around.   
  
And the whole tribe filed out with us into the square outside where a warm day was beginning. I hadn't expected them to come and see us off but there they were, Sao, Shigeru and all.  
  
"We'd like to assure you we'll give the body a burial since he does have a connected with the King of Hyrule" Shigeru said, although I think he was talking more to me than anyone else  
  
"Thank you" Link said formally  
  
Sao was standing a little way off, I caught his eye and he smiled and nodded, I grinned and looked back at Shigeru.  
  
"If you're ever passing through you'll always be welcome in our village" he continued, "We're always helpful to friends"  
  
"Thank you" Link said again, gripping wrists with the man almost twice the size of him "But now we'd better be off"  
  
Shigeru nodded and smiled at me and Lucy "Good luck girls, don't go causing anymore trouble"  
  
I went red and mumbled something about how it wasn't always our fault.  
  
"Come on then, let's go" Link said, turning towards the entry way that led to the clock tower   
  
"Ok then, bye!" I yelled to the whole tribe  
  
"Bye!" Lucy chimed in  
  
And we left for the clock tower. It was a nice cool sunny, morning, the clear sky held no memory of the weather that had plagued it only days before. It put a spring in my step and I was happy that I was going home at last. It seemed like only yesterday that I had done this before.  
  
Once more I was leaving a world that had always managed to bring a change in me once I'd returned home. I wondered what would happen when I got home this time. Would Lucy forget it all again? Would I remember?   
  
Glancing up at the Clock Tower which was now only a few steps away, the bustle of early morning market stalls being set up dimmed in my ears and I thought about how this clock seemed to stand alone, apart from its fellow buildings, part of the world and yet not part of the world. I looked at Lucy and wondered if that was how we were also.  
  
"Hey" Link said   
  
We stopped in front of the heavy wooden doors a moment.  
  
"I think, if you take these" he handed over small grey stones that we recognised as those that would help us get back home "When we step through the dimensional tunnel you'll be returned to your world like I'll be returned to Hyrule"  
  
"Right, cool" Lucy pocketed the stone along with her hand into her trousers and I could tell she was keeping a tight grip on her ticket out of here "See you then, it's been fun once more but next time don't call me" she looked at us strangely, then up at the door and said "I'll wait for you inside I think"  
  
Link grinned "Sure" he shook Lucy's hand warmly before she disappeared at a nod from me, then Link turned to me "Well, I guess this'll be the last time I see you…"  
  
He held out a hand for me to shake too. Idiot, as if I'd let him get away with that. I slapped his hand away and wrapped my arms tightly around his neck. I wasn't going to be stingy with farewells this time as I had the last. Drawing back slightly I ran my thumb from his hair down across his cheek, studying his face that had aged so much in such a short time for me. A short sudden realisation of something, that if I had stayed the last time things would have been so different. But it was gone as I remembered things happened for a reason, and I had fallen (for however short a time) in love with Dark Link.  
  
That didn't matter anymore.  
  
Pressing my forehead next to his I said "Maybe, but you never know until it happens, we may just meet again. And if we don't then…don't forget me Link"  
  
He grinned and kissed me lightly on the cheek "I don't think I ever will"  
  
We separated and I stretched "Well, here we go again, you're back to your kids and I'm back to school. Great"  
  
Link laughed and said "Yeah well living with Zelda there's so many rules it may as well be school!"  
  
We stood at the doors to the Clock Tower, ready to enter and leave for our homes again. I drew a breath and placed a hand on one of the wood doors as Link did the same to the other.  
  
"Ready?" Link asked, smiling widely  
  
"Let's go" I replied.  
  
And we walked through the doors.  
  
* * *  
  
The small girl stretched and jumped out the car, running around the other side to let her small friend out as well, the little green clad boy gambolled out and stood up tall, facing the sky.  
  
"Time for me to go I think"  
  
The little girl pouted and looked at the boy's feet, which gradually seemed to disappear. She felt tears prick her eyes and she gave him a big hug, ignoring the exchange of looks that her parents gave her.  
  
The little boy hugged her back, carefully of the new scares on her body from the accident, almost up to his waist was gone now.  
  
"I guess this'll be the last time I see you…" the little girl said, frowning  
  
"Nah" the little boy in green shook his head fiercely, so his locks of blonde hair fell out from his cap "We'll meet again, you can count on it"  
  
"Really?" she asked, grinning  
  
"As sure as I'm standing here" he looked at his fading body and said "Well, you know what I mean"  
  
She smiled and said "See you Fairy Boy"  
  
"Bye" he said, and vanished from view.  
  
Her mother came over, a strange look on her face and brought her little girl around to look in her eyes. Her mother looked concerned.  
  
"Are you alright?" she asked her daughter carefully  
  
Her little girl looked around, smiled, and said "Yeah. Just fine"  
  
* * * 


	20. Epilogue

EPILOGUE  
  
* * *  
  
Five months to the day I'd returned to the boring life of England.  
  
I looked around Harrods lazily, no money and everything in the shop was expensive, maybe trips to London to shop weren't a good idea unless you actually had money to shop with. I sighed and turned to go.  
  
"Argh, sorry!"  
  
I reeled a moment from being bashed out of the way by a strong shoulder and then gathered my footing. Rubbing the sore spot gingerly I checked I had my bags, relived to find I did.  
  
"Are you ok? I didn't mean to do that, I've just been really clumsy for the last few months for some reason" a nervous laugh  
  
"Don't worry about it" I grinned and looked up at the voice "What the~"  
  
He looked at me, concerned. The same light blonde hair, a little shorter, the same blue eyes, the tone of voice…I stared for a moment.  
  
"Are you ok?" He asked again  
  
I blinked and shook my head "Yeah" smiling I stuck out my hand "Hi, I was just wondering whether you might like to go out with me tonight…" I scribbled down a number on a receipt "This is where I'm staying"  
  
The guy had to be him, it had to be, there was no mistake.   
  
He looked at the number curiously and then grinned "Sure, why not? It's been a while since I've had a date. I'll call you…" he began to walk off  
  
"Hey wait" I said loudly, he turned back to look at me "What's your name, stranger?"  
  
He smiled widely and said "Link. My name is Link"  
  
* * * 


	21. Author's Notes

Arrggh, we've finally finished our magic journey together, hurray! I'm really happy that you've all read this story and I hope you enjoyed it, I'm proud that there are…not QUITE as many plot holes as the first story ^^;;  
  
What did you all think of the ending? I hope it was ok…it sorta leaves things open for another story if I feel like it or not if I don't.   
  
Anyway, thanks to EVERYONE OF YOU who has EVER reviewed this story and if you stuck it out till the end then you are a HERO!!!! Yes, you're totally a hero!  
  
Did you notice I never ever used the characters name? She doesn't really have one ^^;;;   
  
Anyway, happy ending people! For everyone! I'm sorry it took so long for me to finish!!! I had so much stuff to do though but now I have to finish my Escaflowne one too…oh well.   
  
THANKS AGAIN FOR STICKING WITH ME! *wink* anyway, get your reviews flowing and tell your friends that I've finally finished!  
  
PEACE AND LOVE GUYS! 


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